Day 203: Just chillin'

As with numerous articles of baby clothing and toys, this director's chair is a hand-me-down  item from Kuya Jarred. Like the diva that she is, CeeJae took to the chair oh so naturally, grabbing her shades and make-believe cocktail cup and straw, posing just at the right moment for Mommy to capture this photo.

Day 144: Self-Portrait

Believe it or not, I took this photo myself. With the  help of a small tripod, I propped my point-and-shoot on top of the television and made use of the timer function to click the shutter.

Since I couldn't get a perfect angle and distance, it took several tries before I decided I had enough decent shots. This "photo shoot" was done right after midday during a brownout. The room was like a sauna hence the sweat marks on my blouse and on my face.

Well, for a shoot that took less than 30 minutes to complete, I came up with some pretty good shots. 

Day 61: Way back when...

 

I chanced upon this photo while I was rummaging through some old stuff. This is an 11-year old photo, taken during the Sinulog in Cebu in 1999.  If I'm not mistaken, this was the first time I sported a very short hairstyle (I always had medium-length to very long hair).  This was my very first Sinulog as I had only moved to Cebu the year before.  I notice that this photo is shouting "freedom!!!" I just had started to live independently for the first time in my life.

Day 47: Good Samaritan

My son came home from school today carrying a sealed shoe box with his name scribbled on top.  He said that his entire class received a shoe box each and that they were gifts from God.  With much excitement, he opened the box and it revealed the following:

• a large box of crayons (48's)
• a Hotwheels Monster Truck
• a Lightning McQueen colored marker set
• a set of modeling clay
• a pair of socks
• 2 packs of dental floss
• a twin pack of Spiderman toothbrushes
• a Vaseline lip balm
• a small rabbit stuffed toy
• a children's book on Perseverance
• a pack of Bubble Yum
• a pack of Nerds candy
• a handy pouch with a pad of stickers

A closer look on the box revealed marks on the packing tape that says "Samaritan's Purse: Operation Christmas Child".  On the flap is a label indicating the word "BOY" with a check mark on the age range - "5-9 years old".  Before allowing my son to open the goodies inside, I confirmed with his teacher first if my son was indeed the recipient of such gift.

I did a quick search online for the name on the box and this is what their website says - "Samaritan's Purse is a nondenominational evangelical Christian organization providing spiritual and physical aid to hurting people around the world."  One of their ongoing projects is called Operation Christmas Child wherein people pack shoe boxes with goodies for needy children and distribute them worldwide.   The organization aims to bring happiness to children and their families by living the life of the Good Samaritan.

And so, Jarred was right...it was indeed a gift from God. Thank you, Lord!

Day 44: Smolderin'

For my Hearts Day post, let me go back in memory lane to the time when hubby and I were still going steady.  Before prenuptial photos made a big hit, we already snapped up our very own prenup pic taken by my brother using a conventional point and shoot camera.  This was taken during Christmas holidays in 2000 at Fontana Leisure Park in Pampanga. Wouldn't you agree that this is one smokin' hot photo of us?


A special Valentine's shout out to my hubby...Happy Hearts Day Ga!!! Love you so  so much! Mwah!!!

Day 14: Transformation

For several months now, I've been receiving comments on my weight loss, especially whenever I visit my son's school.  Although I am aware that there has been some change, I wasn't fully aware of how much the transformation had been until I saw a picture of mine taken six months ago.  I asked hubby to snap a photo of me now, wearing the exact same clothes.  The top and jeans are the same ones but I had the jeans altered some weeks back as it had been sliding down already and the fit wasn't great anymore.

I am glad and I thank God for giving me the opportunity to make the change without much stress and effort on my part at all.  The big change you can see is courtesy of tandem breastfeeding and a cut on my rice consumption.  Everything else on my diet is more or less the same and although I don't follow a regular exercise regime, I've been keeping active ever since we let go of our household help.  Doing household chores is one surefire way of getting some exercise in your life.  I'm trying my best to keep the habit up and hopefully, I can maintain this look from now on.

The First Week of TwentyTen...Days 1 to 7

Day 1: Blessings and Milestones

It wasn't a very good end of the year for me personally as I've been bothered by a lot of financial woes and questions about the future.

But to awake to this scene on New Year's morning is humbling...I've come to realize that instead of worries, I should be thinking of the blessings I've received over the past year, of which there are a lot. I need to believe that the future will work itself out and that I should just welcome the milestones that will come my way in twentyten. Much like the amazement of looking at my 8-month old daughter sitting down on her Atchie's play chair all by herself.

I am blessed and I thank God for that. Happy New Year!!!

Day 2: All Grown Up!

Wasn't it just yesterday that I held this little baby boy in my arms?...I was so unsure if I'd be a good mother to him. Yet look at him now! He's become my little man...my ever-dependable guard at times when his Dad is away on trips. He loves his two little sisters so much even though there are those instances when he'd have an argument or two with Princess Cailie...that's all part of sibling play, I guess. I am amazed at his independence streak - he wants to do things by himself now but I do long for those times when he'd call out my name because he NEEDS me to do something for him. It makes me feel that I am still his Mommy and I'll always be around whenever he needed me.

I have to treasure every minute I have with him because time sure flies so fast...before I know it, he'd be going off to college already or be with a girlfriend (oh no!!!! not yet, not in at least 20 years please!!!)...

Day 3: Strength

At only 8 months old, it looks like CeeJae is ready to walk by herself. I wouldn't be surprised if she'd be walking by 9 months. Even this early, she's showing so much strength, both physically and mentally. Once she tries to do something, she won't give up until she achieves her goal...such tenacity at a tender age. It delights me and at the same time it scares me too! I'm sure she'll grow up to be a young lady so sure of herself that we'll be having a lot of those Mommy-daughter arguments in the future. Hahaha!!! Mommy has to get ready, I guess.

Strength...this is what we want our children to have even at a young age...so that they'll be ready to face whatever challenges they'll meet in their lives.

Day 4: Back to work...(cyber speaking)

As the long holiday break comes to a close, merry vacationers make their way back to school or the office...such is the sad reality that usually await us after Christmas and New Year's revelry. Ugh!!! And I'm suddenly brought back to when I was still a young schoolgirl dreading the Monday after holiday vacation...not a good feeling at all!!!

The first Monday of January 2010 is also back-to-work day for me...well, cyber wise at least. This is the first day of the year that I go back online and resume online English lessons with my foreigner students.

I hope that twentyten becomes a better year for all my students, tutors and business partners. May we continue to provide excellent service to our clients, more students to our tutors and in turn, more business to us and our partners.

Day 5: Big Feet, Little Feet

Today, my little girl, Caitlin was tinkering with the camera and took this photo of our feet (it's not the image quality, my feet are really that ugly...not my best feature, you see).

This made me look back and remember those times with my Mom. We used to put together our hands because aside from our faces, our hands were close to identical. We would stare in amazement at each detail of our hands...our fingernails, the length of each finger...they really looked the same.

Looking at my daughter's feet, I'm thankful that she didn't take after me and inherited my ugly pair. It was just fun to note how some thing never (well, nearly) change. Years ago, it was about 2 pairs of hands, now it's the tale of two sets of feet.

Day 6: Girls

If I'm not mistaken, this is the first and only picture we girls have together. This photo is courtesy of Kuya Jarred who gladly snapped away with the camera when he saw us girls together. He did a mighty great job, don't you think?

Me and my girls...would we be sharing "boy" secrets when they're well into their teen years? Would they be as loving and sweet to me as they are now? Considering the relatively big age difference, I'm afraid that I might turn out to be a killjoy once they're teenagers...I hope to God I can maintain a close friendship with my girls aside from being Mommy to them. I guess I just have to make sure I stay in touch with what's new with the times, be it music, fashion or lingo.

Sometimes, I can't wait to see my girls grow up to be beautiful young ladies but for now, I want them to stay as they are...my two wonderful baby girls.


Day 7: Pigtails

Not long ago, it was my Mom combing my then very long hair and fashioning it into two beautiful pigtails. Oftentimes, my sister and I would get compliments in school because our hair would be nice and tidy every single day.

Having sported a very short hairstyle since 2005, I had some difficulty getting into the groove of fixing my daughter's long hair.

Up until she turned 2, I would bring Cailie to the salon to have her hair cut just like mine. Then some time later, hubby said to just let her hair grow long. It took some time before I finally got into the groove of ponytails and pigtails. Last Christmas, one of the gifts Cailie got was 2 boxes of hair elastics in gorgeous colors. Now, the pressure is on poor little me to learn the ropes of braiding and buns.

Project 365 of 2010

Hello peeps!!! I've created this blog in response to Xtine Gooding's challenge...

Hopefully (and I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed), I can keep up with this challenge and be able to present you daily snippets of my provincial life...

Wish me luck!!!