I miss you too guys

I know I’ve been gone for so long and obviously, I wasn’t able to update my picture challenge as much as I want to, but I swear I’ve been taking pictures daily! It’s just that I’m so busy with my life right now and taking a hold of a proper pc to upload my pics is a bitch so yeah, I’m stuck with my phone and with the wordpress app and unfortunately, some pictures that I took are in our hard drive and – again – we still don’t have a proper pc so I can’t upload it. And seeing that I haven’t uploaded the pics yet made me think that updating my blog without the pic challenge seems foolish that’s why I decided to just wait for a computer to come my way and just stay quiet for a while. Fortunately, I’ve been enlightened and I told myself that what I’m doing seem silly that’s why here I am, explaining why I am not uploading anything here.

So what I will do is to skip the proper day count and upload the pics that I have in my phone and just upload the rest once we have a computer. That way, I won’t be too far gone in the blogging world.

That seems quite logical.

Baby steps. Baby steps.

I’ll be writing soon. Gosh, I miss to rant.

Ciao.

Trying out my new KOLA filters and a lot of excuse for being such a lame blogger

(UPDATE: I added my pic project. Thanks for your patience guys. Have fun and keep on snapping )

 

I know I wasn’t able to update this blog as much as I want to and I know it sucks big time, but what can I do? (you: A LOT!) I’m just a mom trying hard and my very best to juggle my sanity and trying to keep my patience string as long as possible.

I was supposed to post some entries last week but I was afraid some plagiarizing bastard will claim my entry as his own. Hah! I tried to make a lame joke there but as you can see (or read, whichever!) I failed. (Yes, this is supposed to be a jab to Sen.Sotto )

So anyway, again, I’m truly sorry for being late (yet again).

Now that I settled my debts to you readers, let me tell you about my latest toy.

As you all know, I have no work that’s why money’s a little bit hard to come by. That’s the main reason why I don’t usually buy anything that catch my attention; that’s why it took me a lot of “should I or should I not buy it?” moment before I decided to finally give in to my lusting. And that brings us to my new toy – KOLA filter. I bought it for P590 (roughly $14) at Fully Booked in MOA. It’s not too pricey for some but for me it is. BUT IT”S TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!

What’s KOLA filter? Well, it’s a colored plastic filters. You can either put it in front of your lens or in your flash, which ever rocks your boat. I prefer using it on top of my diffuser (for flash).

Taken from iphone, lowlight that’s why it’s blurry

OK, after playing with my new toy, I’ve found out that it’s best to use it when taking black and white photos. Shows a lot of contrast. I wish I could use it with snoot but I don’t have time to make a fully functional snoot because I am lazy as a rock and can’t get my ass to move even if I want to. It’s a fun fun fun funfunfunfunfun toy. I’m sure you’ll enjoy using it. KNowing that I don’t process my photos, this gives me the enjoyment of seeing my pictures in different perspective. (I don’t have an idea what I just said!) But seriously, everyone should try it. It’s handy, it’s sturdy (although it scratches easily!) and it looks nice. YOu can easily slid it to your camera bag or jeans pocket. I haven’t used it outside the house yet because the weather is a bit unpredictable (I’ve never been outside since Sunday. Don’t pity me I told you I’m a stay at home mom. And I meant it literally.)

Ok, now that I’ve got that out of my system, here are the pics that I took and my pic project. I must warn you though, most of the pics are not composed with “art” in mind, I simply point and shoot it just to test the colors.

TEST SHOTS (please forgive me for not remembering what exact shade of filter that I used, kthnxbye)

(cut to 15 minutes later: Being semi-nudists (kidding!)…(or am I?) inside our abode, I just found out that most of the “great pictures” consists of shots of either me, my husband or my daughter wearing nothing but our underwear. Not a great sight to behold I tell you. So please bear with me.)

Some colors are achieved through combining two or more filters

All pics have the same settings. Can you see the difference between the colors of these precious black and white shots? I am admitting to the world that I have no idea how to tinker with the colors for a B&W shots so this makes me giddy

One more thing, I have a hard time taking “good” photos whenever I’m in a tungsten light because they are always too cool (blue) for my taste especially when I turn on the flash. So you can imagine my elation (please take a moment of your time to imagine me jumping up and down because of vision orgasm) when I finally (crossing my fingers on this!) when I found out that I can counteract that blue-ness and turn it from this:

tungsten with flash; too blue for my liking

TO THIS:

tungsten with flash and yellow KOLA filter. JUST PERFECT at least for me

Pic project to add tomorrow or later (hopefully), dear daughter is crying her guts out because she wants my attention so bad. thanks for understanding.

 

 

Day 117

Day 118

Day 119

Day 120

Day 121

Day 122

Day 123

Day 124

Day 125

Day 126

Day 127

Day 128

Day 129

Day 130

Day 131

Day 132

Day 133

Day 134

I combined the red and blue strip on the DIY 3d glasses to make a filter. They look good right? This is the time I know I need to have my KOLA filter asap. I fell in love with the idea of turning my photos into different shades without using photoshop!!!

Day 135

Day 136

My personal thoughts on issues that matter (at least for me)

Hi guys. I know I’ve been away for far too long. I am (still is!) busy. I’ve been doing something very important, and it’s taking almost all my free time. That is to say, the time before I go to bed. I won’t disclose whatever it is as of the moment because I’m afraid to jinx it. Moving on, let’s talk about the issues that hounded me in the past few weeks/days. This post is pretty long so you may want to have some popcorn handy and enjoy your reading. Or your criticism. Whatever.

1. Sen. Tito Sotto’s plagiarizing scandal. PLAGIARISM!!!!

I was browsing through my phone when I read about this report that one of our senator plagiarized the work of the blogger Sarah Pope. It’s fairly obvious since he (or maybe one of his speech writers) copied it word by word, making a few (teeny tiny bit) adjustment and calling it his own. It doesn’t matter if he told everyone that he quoted Natasha Campbell-McBride,  the fact that his speech was copied word for word is obviously called plagiarism. And the nerve of this guy to say “Bakit ko naman iko-quote ang blogger? Blogger lang iyon. Ang kino-quote ko si Natasha Campbell-McBride,”  (trans: Why should I quote a blogger? She’s just a blogger. I’m quoting Natasha Campbell-McBride.) is very arrogant. Just a blogger???? Just a blogger my ass! Hey Senator: It’s not a mortal sin to admit that you lifted some of your speech from someone even if that someone is just a blogger!

It’s ok to copy other people’s work word by word but you should ask for permission, link back, don’t arrogantly claim that it’s your own work and definitely give credit when credit is due! I’ve been a victim of plagiarizing once and that person didn’t ask for my permission or even acknowledge me as the author of the piece she posted  on her blog. You can say that it pissed me off. I felt robbed. So yeah, please, don’t plagiarize. Ask nicely if you want to use others work and dammit, please don’t claim that it’s your own work when you know full well that it’s not.

In this age and time, you don’t make stupid mistakes like that and not realize that there will be grave consequences. Own up to your mistakes. Admit that you’re wrong and then we can (maybe) move on. But don’t be a pompous ass and refuse to go down on your mighty horse because it’s only a matter of time when people will demand blood and then they will shove your words up your ass, and you won’t like that right?

2. On that note, let’s talk about RH-Bill.

Why is this still an issue? RH Bill is not just about using contraception and definitely not about abortion. It’s about giving everyone the chance to have access to sufficient reproductive heath care, educating people to help them be responsible with their body and their actions.

I’ve read about the CBCP’s insistence that CONTRACEPTION IS CORRUPTION. You know what? This statement is beyond absurd. I’m sorry but it’s dumb and stupid. It’s very prejudiced. The problem with our country is that the church is overstepping their place; their boundaries. They dive into politics with their views/take on issues without thinking of the greater good of the people. They insists that it’s the Lord’s view/way. What differentiates them to the Spanish friars (colonizers) who used to intimidate Filipinos telling them that those who don’t believe in the teaching of the church will die a horrible death and will be sent to hell?

Some anti RH-BIll defenders insists that the bill is pro-abortion. Seriously?

RH-Bill is not about abortion. It’s about giving a chance for women to educate themselves about the repercussions should they dive into sex and get pregnant. This is a chance to teach people about proper family planning, about educating people about the alarmingly rampant rise of sexually transmitted diseases. This is not about terminating a possible life of a supposed, could-be fetus just because we used condoms. This is not about promoting pre-marital sex or teaching young people to be sluts and telling them that it’s ok to spread your legs to anyone as long as they use contraceptives. This is not about that.

RH-Bill aims to teach everyone that STD’s exists. It’s about educating the youth about sex. To teach poor and those (unfortunately) uneducated people the importance of family planning. It aims to give people the choice to decide if they want to practice family planning. Should they decide that it’s not for them, then they can procreate all they want! This is what’s wrong with our country. We can’t move forward because we can’t get past the notion that doing something against the church’s teachings will/can benefit our country. That it will/can be for the greater good for all.

It’s always been an issue to separate the church from state. Unfortunately, our country is so tied-up with the church that it forgets that not everyone in the Philippines believe in the church’s teachings. I am an atheist, I hope my voice in this country can be heard and maybe considered by the government even if I don’t believe in the church.

Most Filipino families are very prude when it comes to talking about sex to their children that’s why children get their information about sex through friends their age, through porn magazines, through the internet. RH-Bill’s aim is to educate everyone about the repercussions of sex.

You can get STD’s if you have sex. You can get pregnant. It’s a matter of perspective if you will go to hell.

This is a free country and it’s a woman’s choice to choose what she deemed is safe for her body. People have no right to tell a woman it’s the devil’s way to use contraceptives or to condemn her if ever she decides to participate in pre-marital sex. Who are we to judge someone on what we think is right? It’s easy to say stuff if you are not on that person’s shoes. Women are living in a world where we have supposedly have the freedom to decide/choose what is best for us. By the church’s stand, pre-marital sex is a sin. Engaging in that act is considered sinful. We are judged because we chose to practice PMS. We are condemned to think that what we are doing is morally wrong. We feel depressed, we feel inadequate. Obviously, we are nowhere near that world where we can decide freely wherein our actions will not be scrutinized and will not make us feel that we are in charge of our bodies. Let me check my calendar, it says 2012 not 1812. To that I say: A woman’s body is her own; we are not defined on what’s between our legs.

3. Cheating issue between Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson and that sleazy Rupert Sanders

I’ve never been a fan of the Twilight franchise (see my post here) but I feel sorry for Robert Pattinson for being cheated on by K-Stew. I get that K-Stew is still young and maybe not as committed to the relationship as Rob was but that doesn’t give her the right to cheat on Rob.I just read today about this:

“Kristen is trying to find some inner peace within herself,” a source close to the actress revealed. “And she is reading a lot. She has always been interested in philosophy and spirituality and she has been reading a lot of different books. Strangely enough, the one author that has really been resonating with her is Gandhi, who she decided to find out more about after watching Eat, Pray Love.

“She began reading a biography of his life, then turned to Gandhi’s own writing because she was seeking solace. The quote that particularly stands out for her is, ‘The weak can never forgive. ‘Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong.’ While she doesn’t know if Rob could forgive her, that statement has tempered her own regret.” (source: http://www.evilbeetgossip.com/2012/08/23/how-eat-pray-love-changed-kristen-stewarts-life/)

Personally, I don’t care if you’re young, immature or simply bored, if you cheated on your partner, then you should expect and accept that your ex probably won’t forgive you for cheating on his ass. You can bawl all you like and drunk-dial him all you want but it’s not his fault and should never be taken against him should he decide to leave your sorry ass alone and miserable and to not forgive you even if you begged and begged and begged him to come back.

It will be your ex’s problem should he decide to not forgive you. Don’t deny him that opportunity because you were the one who broke his heart.

I don’t care if the guy or the girl was the one who did the cheating, if you cheat, then it’s your fault. If you’re not happy with the relationship, talk to your partner. If you want some time off, tell him/her. If you want to fuck around, break up with him/her  first then do whatever is necessary to relieve your itch or your need to intimacy or some deeper shit like “sexual connections” or whatever your reasons are but don’t do it while you are still together. Cheating is nasty. It’s downright selfish. Break up with the person you’re with and do what makes you happy.

I personally don’t like cheaters and plagiarizers and those know-it-alls who insists that you believe in what they believe in.

Before I end this post, here’s the pic project.

Day 94: I can’t recall the name of this dish from Mr. Poon

Day 95: A lame attempt at capturing my bangsilog

Day 96: Ate this yummy, yummy veggies

Day 97: Omelet

Day 98: The chicken is superb but I don’t eat pork liver

Day 99: My baby!!!

Day 100: Playing with her “friends”

Day 101: Champorado on a rainy day

Day 102: I love breads

Day 103: Pochero

Day 104: Playing alone

Day 105: Love this shoes

Day 106: My birthday girl

Day 107: Nice print

Day 108: On her fort

Day 109: Me being all mysterious and shit. I look constipated in this pic.

Day 110: This is her own place

Day 111: Color maniac

Day 112: German boat something at Icebergs. This is delicious.

Day 113: At healthway

Day 114: With her wowo

Day 115: Nothing else to photograph but this arm rest

Day 116: Again, nothing else to photograph

On shaping up and losing the flabs

I’ve always loved my body. There are some flaws that I don’t feel comfortable exposing and some assets that I have no qualms showing off; but just like any woman, no matter how much I love and feel proud about my body, I still have those dreaded “fat” days wherein I see a lot of hidden (or sometimes new!) imperfections on my body. Today is one of those days.

While standing in front of the mirror, I saw huge thighs and flabby arms and spare tires staring at me. I don’t normally obsess about my weight but what I saw mortified me and it actually made me realize that I am living a very unhealthy lifestyle. I want to be healthy (and not just thin!). I want to be healthy not only for myself but also for my husband and for my baby as well and that’s why I decided to start exercising again! So from now on I am going to put myself on a very strict exercise program. I sure hope I will be able to commit because in the long run, being healthy will surely benefit me right? I don’t want to obsess about my weight in front of my daughter because that will be very unhealthy. I want her to learn and understand that being healthy (living healthy) doesn’t equate to being thin or fat. So yeah, healthy living it is.

Day 93:

Yes, this is where I start to cut back on eating processed foods.

Pic project

I’ve been racking my brain for any ideas to blog unfortunately nothing comes out so I’m just going to post day 91 and 92 instead.

Day 91:

Day 92:

Amazing toys for kids (and kids at heart)

Growing up, I remember having lots of toys (and I mean a lot!) in my disposal. My mom was abroad while was growing up so you can imagine how much toys I got everytime the balikbayan boxes came. I am a book reader/lover eversince I was young so I never get to play with my toys as much as I want to. Come to think of it, I don’t think I ever play with most of my toys since I was more interested in reading books than playing with toys, and if I am playing, I am more inclined in contact playing/physical play/sports. I never had the chance to keep some of the toys because of the fire that burned our house down to the ground when I was in the fourth grade.

Cut to present day when old people like me (yes, I just turned 30 and that is oooold!) always have this weird wish of turning back the hands of time.

So imagine my delight when I went to Toys R Us at Robinsons Manila and got surrounded by toys that reminds me so much of my youth. (or the balikbayan boxes I guess).

That is the reason why I came up with this post. I am going to list a few toys and stuffs that I think is a good option for your kids. (Not that I’m an expert). So here goes:

(not in particular order)

LEGOS

Playing legos are fun and relaxing. It’s also good for your child’s imagination. Be sure to buy the original legos just to make sure that it’s lead-free.

COLORS

My daughter loves coloring. Unfortunately, she loves to do it on our walls. But I just let her do her thing since coloring hones your child’s creativity. And walls can be painted on so let your child make your wall a testament of his/her creativity and imagination.

IPAD

This may sound a little bit bourgeois but this device is the one that actually taught my daughter how to play puzzles and identify colors. Seriously. Download some apps and videos and you’re good to go. Of course you need heavy supervision because this thing is solid built. My daughter once busted her forehead on that thing and you can’t imagine how much blood her forehead spew. It was unnerving to say the least.

DOLLS and maybe a little props

There are times when my baby loves playing with her bear. She plays with it only if she gets to push the bear in a “stroller”. Chairs are a good imagination tool for kids and can act as a good “stroller” or “car” or even “hospital”. Anything goes.

ANY SAFE OBJECTS THAT CAN BE ANYTHING

BOOKS

You know, I love teaching my baby to love books like me but I also believe that it’s better if kids get to play with toys too. But you know, reading is a great hobby to share. Plus it makes for a little bit quiet time once in a while.

So that’s it for now. I still have a lot of toys to discuss but these here are my go-to toys or as I like to call it, my savior. As for the pic challenge? Here it is:

Day 87:

The weather is so unpredictable that’s why this project became a little more challenging than it already is. Being alone with my daughter inside the house ALL THE TIME (I’m not even exaggerating!) means less interesting subject to take photos of.

Day 88:

I’ve always loved crafting and journaling. It’s a great relief to discover washi tapes although the price is a little steep for my budget.

Day 89:

I love puzzles and I will do whatever it takes for my baby to love puzzles too. I didn’t include puzzles above because I haven’t tried playing puzzles with my kid yet.

Day 90:

I love this geometric pattern. It’s actually our sofa’s “spine”? “skeleton”? Jeez, I really have no idea what the right term is. But hey! Who knew I can make it until day 90 right??? So proud of myself .

That’s it for now. Stay creative guys!

Pic project and some thoughts I want to vent

Hello there. I know I’ve been away too long from this blog and honestly, I missed you guys.

Anyway, the usual, I was busy blahblahblah and you know what for the first time, I have a lot to say/write but I was really contemplating on blogging about the jumbled mess of ideas I have in my brain. I mean, religion or my lack thereof? Feminism? Chauvinism? Porn? Those are some rad topics right? But jeez (heh!) those issues are too hard for me to discuss simply because I dont know how to expound the topic (and as I’ve said I have too many ideas and pov on those topics!) and explain my side without sounding too arrogant, too preachy or too ignorant. So I rest my case. I think it’s best if I just give those topics a rest (for now) and have the other more intellectual (with words!) people discuss those shits and whatnots.

Oh, also, I know most of you (if not all) heard/read about the shooting in Colorado by a deranged lunatic who thinks he’s Joker. That shithead is so pathethic and I feel so bad for the poeple and the families of those who died and got wounded. What a waste of precious life. So I urge all of you to have them in your prayers and for those who don’t believe in prayers, at least take a moment of silence and maybe do some good stuff to someone today because life, no matter how hopeless it may seem is always, always precious.

Yeah, I’m still dutifully (I really have no idea if that’s even a proper word and I don’t want to look it up on the dictionary coz I’m LAZY!!!) taking pics a day. However, I am using my iphone instead of my cam because I find it easier to blog on my phone than in our pc. Again, laziness.

Day 70: This is my first time to try Secret Recipe’s pork and pepper pie. This pie here is delish. You should try it! This pie which is rather small for its price will set you back more or less around P165. That’s approx $4.

Day 71: One of the best cool drinks for me. My comfort drink, I guess. Quickly’s Super Taro Ice. We also got the Pearl Earl Tea for free.

Day 72:

What do we have here? Oh yeah, banged, scraped and skinned my knee in a stupid accident that involves cement, a steep slope and a bunch of lazy morons who refused to clean up after their mess. And a bunch of hatred and humiliation too. Good thing it’s already healing up but I have a nasty scar to remind me why I hate people sometimes.

Day 73: I love pastries. It’s one of my weakness. So it’s a no-brainer that Auntie Anne’s pretzels are my favorite pick-me-up. And it’s also the reason why I am gaining weight. Totally worth it!!!

Day 74: pre-bday celebration was in Yakimix in MoA. I had a chocolate ice cream for dessert.

Day 75: It’s me and my dad’s birthday! Celebrated our day with a happy family dinner at Sze-Chuan House at Aloha Hotel. Great day and I am now 30! Too old!!!

Day 76: the traditional meaning of posting on a wall. If my mom’s still alive today, I bet she’ll say it’s payback time. Hehehe miss my mom everyday. So love your mom guys. Seriously, hug your parents and tell them you love them every day.

Day 77: this is my sister’s newest ink.

Day 78: Gumbo’s Grilled porkchop steak with fries and cajun rice. The taste is so-so. Yummy but not the best I’ve tasted. Needs improvement says my tastebuds. FYI, according to the newest studies, there is no substantial proof that our tongue has this sweet, sour and bitter region. Remember when we are still in elementary and our teacher taught us that the outer part of our tongue can taste sweetness, then the middle part can taste sourness and so on, well, that shit is not true anymore, says the scientists who studies tastes or tongues or both. I can’t explain it without the aid of visual aids so I’ll leave you guys to search it for your own trivial info.

Day 79: new boots for my baby

Day 80: reading is a great bonding between children and parents. So read to your child everyday.

Day 81: fish paired with steamed okra and talbos ng kamote (or leaves of sweet potatoes). I have no idea about the english of the talbos but it’s leaves of potatoes. Just imagine it or rather google it.

Day 82: beer!!! My last alcoholic beverage intake was roughly 3 years ago. Been sober since because I am still breatsfeeding. And no, that beer is not mine.

Day 83: my knee, my knee, my knee, you’re a shining pearl. A play of Solveig Sandness’s Marie. Love that song.

Day 84: rain rain go away come again another day. I hate rain. For some weird reason it makes me depress.

Day 85: ate at super bowl with 2 of my good friends way back in highschool.

Day 86: the rain just won’t stop.

Recipe of the day: pork and cheese croquette

I am letting you in on a secret… I love cooking! Yes, I love cooking as much as I love eating, and that’s saying a lot.

This afternoon, I decided to cook (and pig out!) pork and cheese croquettes for snack. So I boiled some potatoes and I added 2 sweet potatoes then I mashed them. I added milk, a little butter and salt and pepper to taste to my mashed potatoes then I let it cool a bit. On a separate pan, I sauted onion and garlic and my ground lean pork. Once cooked, I added (a lot of) cheddar cheese (any cheese will do) then I set it aside. Once the mashed potato is cold, I scooped a little portion and formed it into a circle, flatten it, then I added a scoop of pork and cheese in the middle, formed it into a ball then dipped it into flour with salt and pepper. Then I fried it until golden brown. The result? Well, it’s my entry for today. Day 69:

Day 67:

Day 68:

Current problem: my baby’s loss of appetite

Me and hubby are very frustrated about our baby’s appetite. She used to be a hearty eater. She eats almost everything I serve her including chicken or pork liver. All that has changed last week when all of a sudden, she decided to stop eating! My problem with this is that aside from not eating anything she decides not to drink her formula milk too! She’s relying on my breastmilk all day! I have no qualms in breastfeeding her in public but lately i decided not to breastfeed her until she starve. Maybe by then she will eat right? I am not sure if that is the best possible solution to my problem but I am losing hope here. Do you guys have any suggestions? Hit me up on the comment. Thanks.

And before i end this here’s my entry for my pic project.

Day 66:

Pic project, confessing my undying love with jpegs and my problem with landscape photography

Someone asks me why I take photos everyday and why I don’t aspire to become a pro. My answer? I love taking pictures simply because I love capturing and preserving the moments in my life. I feel like life is too short and that if I blink, all of a sudden I am 40.

Despite my love for photography, I must admit (and I guess it shows on my photos) that I don’t religiously follow the photography rules. Heck, I don’t even know if I am following any rules at all. The reason for this is because I am too lazy to read the “rules”. Also, I hate using RAW. There was this one time that I read about the advantages of using RAW vs JPEGS and even though RAW files are better than jpegs in a lot of aspects, I still use and will forever declare my love in using jpegs. Yes, I know that I am like a love-struck teenager, declaring my undying love for someone who is clearly not worth loving, so let’s just hope that I will come to my senses and “break-up” with my rebel lovah. I have no idea why I just typed that nonsense, but my point here is that I have no patience in converting and processing my photos after I take them. And yes, technically, jpeg photos are “processed photos” but the bottomline here is that the camera is the one who does the processing, so yeah, I am still a lazy ass photographer, I guess and for that reason alone, I am not worthy to be a pro.

You see, in my opinion, professional photographers have this discipline in following and breaking the rules, I on the other hand have no clue on the rules. Take for example the rules of thirds. So it’s either I am following it because I feel like my shot is better in this angle or I break it because I just feel that this angle is better. And it’s not because I remember what/how the rule of thirds really is/really works. In my opinion, being a pro is stressful. I just want to take pictures that can help me remember the moment. It’s like the finest moment stops and I have it in my hands or in my case in my camera forever. (Note to self: Have the damn photos developed already!!!)

Moving on to that question and answer portion, I have a problem in taking landscape pictures.I just don’t know how to properly compose a shot. I know some of you will tell me that this is now the time to follow the rules, stop being lazy and read about landscape photography or read about how to compose shots, but my answer again will be NO. Not because I am lazy but simply because I am stubborn, and simply because I am still inlove with my jpeg lover. And yes, I still don’t make any sense at all, I guess it’s because my excuses on why I am not posting regularly on this site have already dried up, and yes, I have no idea how my post will end. Ugh, jumbled thoughts on my head again. To make up for my nonsensical whining, here are the pictures that I took for my pic project. Have a great day.

Day 54

This is the only picture that I took for Day 54. Talk about laziness.

Day 55

My baby playing with her dolls.

Day 56

Enjoy the moment because life is too short.

Day 57

My baby hates missing a photo-op.

Day 58

Believe it or not but our camera’s built-in flash is best used under the harsh direct sunlight.

Day 59

See what I mean about landscape photography? I’m bad at it.

Day 60

I just love how this shot turned out. My flash bounced on our tv screen currently showing a very bright white picture of a fluffy bunny.

Day 61

She is now in the stage where she writes on walls to express her creativity. At least we can paint our walls right?

Day 62

Day 63

My baby’s artwork on our wall.

Day 64

Look at how big my baby is now!

Day 65

My new haircut. FULL BANGS!!!!

Photo project and why I need to literally cover my house in foam padding

I’ve been really busy scrapbooking anything I see in my photo box. (I call my box where I keep all my photos photo box. Heh.) I know I am late on posting my photo project or whatever the hell I am calling that project nowadays. (Seems like I’ve been calling it different names every damn day.) I have a lot of reasons why I am currently on blog ban but one of them is because I literally need to always, always, alwaaaays take a close eye on my dear bubs. It’s either she’s falling on her head/face or sporting a fat lip. Last, last Friday, we rushed her to the ER and demanded for her to have a ct-scan. You see, she stepped on a ball and hit her head on our marble floor and vomited afterwards. My bad; I know we’re not supposed to give her a ball, but she loves it so much. But I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. I VOW TO NEVER GIVE HER ANY BALL EVER. EVER. E. V. E. R.) Good thing we had a rubber mat. She didn’t undergo the procedure because we can’t get her to sleep even if they gave her the benadryl shots to make her sleepy (like my grammar!), so my pedia told me to observe her for 72 hours to see any unusual behavior that will be a sure sign of concussion. Fortunately, she didn’t vomited again, didn’t seem lethargic and she seems fine afterwards. Then the next day, she hit her head again and busted her lip. I cried hysterically for hours cursing myself for being such a bad parent. One second! A mere second of looking the other way and there she is, lying on her back, crying hysterically (just like her mommy) with bloody, swollen lips. I just hate seeing my baby all bloody and helpless. It’s really true that when you have a child of your own, you will ask all the gods to let you have all the pain they are enduring/will endure.

Oh well.

So here’s the photo project. Sorry if it took me too long to post them.

Day 35

Day 36

Day 37

sorry for the low quality of the photo. I took this from my ipad and we all know that ipad’s are not known for their cameras right?

Day 38

 

Day 39

Day 40

Day 41

My baby loves dogs soo much. As in you guys have no idea how much she really, really loves dogs.

Day 42

Busted her lip.

Day 43

Day 44

What’s up with kids and dogs? Well, I’m more of a cat person myself so I can’t really tell. But I love dogs too, it’s just that I love kitties more. <3

Day 45

Day 46

Day 47

Been busy scrapbooking.

Day 48

Day 49

I am obsessed with calamansi lately. As in I can’t drink water without calamansi in it.Hey, it’s a great source of vitamin C.

Day 50

CRABS!!!!! RED JUICY CRABS!!!!

Day 51

Family pic. This was taken last last Sunday in celebration of my late Mommy’s birthday last June 16 as well as Father’s day.

Day 52

A Christmas shirt on a hot June day.

Day 53

I love macro photography that’s why I’m so sad to know that my camera doesn’t focus properly on close ups to save its life.

So that’s about it. I will be posting today’s photo once I wrestle (again) the computer away from my DH’s hands. (That’s dear husband to you dumbo). And guys, if you want to laugh your ass off (sounds wrong) check out the Blackadder series by Rowan Atkinson. It’s so funny and worth your time. It’s an old series but you can check it out on youtube for free.

Be creative guys.

Short explanation why I dont blog

Yes, I’ve been MIA(A – again) lately and no, I didn’t forget that I still have an account here in wordpress. The reason why I’m MIAA is because I am dedicating all my freetime to scrapbooking. Yes, you heard/read that right! I am a scrapbooker; (is that even a word?) I am the friend who always insists on collecting trinkets, receipts to remember the “moment”. Anyway, I am still doing the photo challenge and to be honest, I didn’t miss any day to take a picture. Hooray for me. Unfortunately, I am too tired to open our pc to upload the pics. So yeah, weekend sounds ok right?
Well then, it’s a date!
Thanks for dropping by.
Be creative!! Goodnight.

Just a quick post because I’m too sleepy to blog tonight

I had a very long day today. It was tiring but fun nonetheless. I also have the flu and eventhough I may not look sick, I definitely am. So please bear with me if I will only post the picture project for the recent days. I will get back to blogging once I get over this flu like a bitch. Ciao!

 

Day 27

 

I have no other subject/scenarios to shoot. This toy looks weird so it caught my attention.

Day 28

 

This picture was taken after I pacified my baby. She fell face first on the floor (that floor!). Hit her face and her cute nose.

 

Day 29

 

My grand daughter.

 

Day 30

Day 31

 

Day 32

Love this show.

Day 33

 

After reading the 50 rules for dads of daughters of Michael Mitchell, I decided to make my own rule for my baby. This is my rule #27: Teach her how to be responsible by giving her chores.

Day 34

 

I went to my dear friend’s wedding in Forbes Park. The ceremony is so solemn and I love their vows. I almost cried and the ceremony itself almost – ALMOST!!! – melt my black heart!!!

Picture project and why I will never (ever, never, ever) have my pictures developed at Photoline Robinsons branch

Hi guys. Sorry for the late post. I was supposed to write an entry last week unfortunately, I can’t tear my husband off the computer because of this:

Things that I don’t understand/comprehend includes pc games.

Hubby is too busy playing and I can’t for the life of me ask him to move his ass away from the computer so I can blog about mundane things that I am not sure people will like.

Anyway, before I post the picture project I just like to rant about how pissed off I am on the quality of the prints that I got from Photoline (Robinsons Ermita branch).

Their developed photos are either a hit or a miss. I had P1500+ worth of pictures developed to them last time and the quality/color of the prints were great that’s why I decided to have another go at their branch.

Unfortunately, due to

a. LAZINESS of the employees, they didn’t bother checking if the heads, feet, hands are properly centered before they cropped it.

I am guessing that this is what happened to their studio:

Employee 1: WTF! the head of this person is too big for his body! I will crop the motherfucking head off of this person!

Employee 2: Seriously? You’re going to cut off his head?? That is so unprofessional! Try leaving the portion where you can barely see his eyes. That way they won’t be able to complain that we motherfucking cut-off their heads.

Employee 1: Great idea!!!

Emploee 2: While you’re at it, try cutting off their legs too, but leave the knees intact because I love knees. And don’t crop the sky. I don’t give a shit about their legs just don’t fucking crop the sky!!!

b. STINGINESS/CHEAPNESS of the management, they decided not to change or refill the ink their using. Seriously, the color of the prints are either too pale or too yellow. The people in the photos either have anemia or hepatitis.

 

I paid P600 for prints that I hope I’ll never see for the rest of my life ever again. (exaggeration, I will still use some of the photos on my scrapbook because I don’t have a money tree or a duck that shits gold). I am totally ripped off.

One thing I know for certain – I won’t come back to have my photos printed on Photoline again. Lesson learned the hard way.

Here are the photos:

Day 20

I miss biking. Unfortunately I am dead scared of riding a bike on the freeway. I swear I will shit my guts out if I bike there.

Day 21

My grandson and grand daughter (I am the youngest their dad is the son of our eldest. I am only 3 years older than their dad…somehow I felt the need to explain why at such a tender age of 29 I already have 2 grand kids.)

Day 22

I need to read books again. I miss reading.

Day 23

This is no longer my ipad, it’s my baby’s ipad now.

Day 24

My new pair of pretty, pretty shoes.

Day 25

First time to try false eyelashes. They look so natural!!!

Day 26

Baby girl is shy.

 

There you have it folks. Hope you have a great day.

Quick question: Can you recommend any studios where I can have my pictures developed? Quality prints and good/competitive price is a must.

Giving the snoot technique a try

One of the benefits that I am reaping with this daily photo-challenge is how to be more creative. (DUH!) Doing this daily picture challenge pushed me to read/google about different ways of photographing a subject. It helps me use my imagination more, what with the whole planning and executing whatnots daily.

Ok, I have no idea what I just typed.

Yesterday, I read something about shooting with a snoot. I got curious so I head over to the DIY photography blog and searched for inspirations/ideas on how to DIY snoots.

Most of the snoots there needs to be measured precisely (plus description regarding why said measurements should be used) and being super bad at math, measurements and because I am too lazy to give a rat’s ass about anything, I decided to just use a black cardstock, taped it to form a cylinder, attach it to my flash and call it a day. The result albeit not perfect is ok for my taste.

Ironic how I talked about the benefits of a diffuser on my last post wherein this photo sure need a great diffuser. I read about using gels although I seriously haven’t seen one in my lifetime (I maybe living in a rock for all you know)

I know most of you will disagree, and maybe others will tell me that the result is nowhere near a perfect output of what snoot technique photo should be, but hey – I am not a professional photographer so I guess my attempt at snooting passed my expectations.

focal length is 46 mm

You may also want to check out this easy instruction from Rui M. Leal’s blog. I may do this one of these days if time permits.

So yeah, that’s it for now. Be creative.

Day 19. This is the reason why I can’t/won’t be able to blog as often as I would like to in the coming days. Bear with me.

 

Trying out Light Painting for the first time plus a pic for my picture challenge

I always tell myself that I am an artist at heart even if it doesn’t show most of the time. I love pretending to try trying out new things and coming close to getting the perfect result that I am aiming for.

Today, while bored out of my wits, I decided to give light painting a shot. What’s a light painting you ask? Well, I have no idea about it too until I read an article on this site. Light painting is actually a technique in photography wherein you set your camera to a long exposure then you photograph a hand-held light source and the result is just genius. (Head over to that site quick for more DIY projects!!!)

Okay, after standing on our kitchen without any lights on and setting my camera’s exposure time to 6 seconds, F-stop to f/8, ISO 800 here are the results:

I have no idea what I am trying to achieve in this picture

My light source is my camera’s flashlight.

Trying to write “iloveu” but failed

I guess my exposure time of 6 seconds is not enough for me to be able to write the word iloveu. I am also not sure if its possible for 1 person to write/light paint(?) a word perfectly. I will update you guys soon if it is. I also have no idea if I should decrease/increase my ISO to achieve better results. Add that to my to-update list.

Lastly, this is my entry for my picture-challenge.

“Look ma, a sphere!”

Sorry for the background. That’s it for today guys. Talk to me on the comment and give me some ideas on how to properly do this light painting technique! I’ll be happy to hear from you guys.

Stay creative!

DIY flash diffuser for my NEX-C3

I own a Sony NEX-C3 camera. I will sound a little bit technical here although I am in no way a professional (not that I am claiming to be). This little camera packs a lot of punch in terms of image quality. I’ve tested the image quality under lowlight/indoor shots and even at ISO 1600, the result is still great. The only problem I have with this baby is the flash. Well, most point and shoot cameras have this problem. So yesterday, I decided to make a (sort of) diffuser to aid in my photo-taking hobby.

I just used a credit card holder and inserted a foil inside then I attached it to my camera’s flash. That’s it! Easy peasy. Now, I know that my idea is not an original one, and there are probably a lot of great photographers who’ve done the same, maybe a lot better than I did, but a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do.

this is my very own DIY flash diffuser (I didn’t cut it yet)

Here’s what it actually looks like when attached to my camera:

Taken from my sister’s camera, Olympus EPL-3

Here’s a picture without diffuser:

taken with flash, no diffuser

With diffuser:

Great result with the diffuser

What a difference right?? Brilliance overload!!!! The only problem I have with this is that it doesn’t do anything when I am on a restaurant or in a dark place with very bad/low lighting. I am not sure if it’s because of the angle of the diffuser. Got any ideas to help me?

Here’s the result when I used it at a restaurant last Sunday. (Although I only used the foil and just hold it with the aid of a rubber band, but still…)

my sis-in-law and her boyfriend

Not the result that I was hoping for but still better than the one without the diffuser. So what do you guys think? Any ideas?

Mothers day celebration at Chef’s Quarter

Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mamas out there.

I spent my special day eating out at Chef’s Quarter with my family and my sister-in-law and her boyfriend. The food there is great, the service superb. They will really treat you with kindness and respect. Gotta love a place that shows appreciation to their guests. They even gave me a mother’s day gift. 2 thumbs up for the food and the polite staffs. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take pictures of the food that we ordered because we are too ravenous to even think about taking pictures. It was really unfortunate because aside from the taste, the plating is great and very pleasing to the eyes too.

All in all, my dining experience at Chef’s Quarter is a great one. I will definitely come back.

I will leave you with my newest picture entry for the day.

 

Have a great day to all and don’t forget to kiss your mom and greet her a happy, happy mothers day.

Ciao.

Day 17

Legit alibis are legit

Okay, okay… that title sounds like some entry from 9gag. I am addicted to that site!!!

Back to what I was whining about. A few weeks ago, I noticed that my eyes are turning red. At first, I was all “this shit is nothing” but then my eyes turned bloodshot so I did the only logical thing to do – I browsed the internet for answers! (Yes, it was a dumb thing to do, I should’ve consulted a doctor.)

The results are downright scary to hilariously insane -

• cancer of the eye that will eventually lead to death
• glaucoma that will eventually lead to blindness, then to depression, then suicide hence death
• sudden blindness that will eventually lead to blindness, then to depression, then suicide hence death
• bursting of eye blood vessel leading to slow painful death
• highblood pressure that will eventually lead to death

I was practically thinking of writing my last will and testament when I got hit by something, and by something, I meant a perfectly sane idea. TADAAAA!!! I should stop wearing my contact lenses and wear eyeglasses instead for a few weeks or so.

So off we went to buy my glasses.

And I couldn’t be happier. My eyes doesn’t hurt anymore and I am pretty positive that I’ll live.

Oh, yeah, that’s the reason why I wasn’t able to post the pictures for the picture project that I’m trying hard to do. I must will make this picture project happen!!!

So ok, here goes nothing.

Day 4

New shoes!!! Look at the pretty floral design, it’s simply lovely. They are comfortable too.

Day 5

This is me and my broad shoulder camera.

Day 6

The summer heat is unbearable. This is my bubs destroying playing with my ipad.

Day 7

Bubs hate the heat!!!

Day 8

I am a sucker for a pretty lipcolor. After years of looking for a bold red color that will suit me – I finally found the perfect red for my puckers. Its a local brand and the color is scarlet. Great color, great color payoff for a great price.

Day 9

Me and bubs are always at home because the heat is unbearable. So yeah, she’s always my one and only subject and the setting is always inside our home. I should go out sometimes and find a different location to shoot photos.

Day 10

My hubby’s pre-birthday celebration. All I did was eat, eat and eat. No alcohol for me because I am still breastfeeding.

Day 11

After months of searing heat and sunshine comes the rain. Unfortunately, after the rain, the heat became more unbearable.

Day 12

This is what happened to my eyes. I promise never to turn to the internet to look for answers because most answers are too morbid to be true.

Day 13

Floral print on the dress of my bubs bear. I love it.

Day 14

I used my sister’s Olympus EPL – 3. This is one of the art filters. If I’m not mistaken this is the dramatic tone/mode.

Day 15

This is me with my glasses and drawn cat flick. Gotta love that hipster glasses.

Day 16

A view from my glasses.

So there you have it. I’ll update as soon as I gather enough pictures to post. Time to snap snap snap.

Keep on being creative.

Hugs.

a project 365 of some sorts (for the monthly challenge thingy)

Who says thingy anymore?

Anyway, I’ve decided to test myself if I’ll be able to finally do this monthly-challenge challenge that I impose on myself (which I failed miserably). The last time that I tried doing the project 365 was in 2007 and unfortunately, after just 20 days, I decided that taking photos a day (with theme) is not for me. I just suck at deadlines. Anyway, after trying and failing, I decided that it’s about time that I consider giving this another shot. So hopefully, I’ll be able to do it (without giving up!!!) this time around.This time I’ll be diligent in posting the photos. No edits because I hate using photoshop because I am super lazy.

Day 1

Day 1 starts last Friday. I took this photo a few minutes after I woke up. I always feel a little bit crazy without my caffeine fix (tea or coffee).

Day 2

This was obviously taken yesterday. My brother-in-law went to Baguio and got us this tasty fudge bars that tastes incredibly like heaven.

Day 3

Saw this on the neighborhood. Whoever installed this is nuts. This is some security FAIL example.

 

Have a lovely evening.