Home for the Holidays

I am leaving for Cabiao in a few minutes to join Rellie and his family celebrate Christmas and their annual Family Reunion (maternal side). I am both excited and nervous to meet the rest of the Santos clan. Although I think I have already met all of them during Christine's debut... but this time it will be different I guess because I get to spend the whole afternoon (and evening) with them. Whew!!! My heart is starting to beat fast.

I am a little worried too because I'll be away from my DL. I am really crossing my fingers that nothing bad will happen...

I'll be back with photos and stories for sure! For the mean time... I have to go now, check my overnight bag especially my red shirt if it's in my bag and catch the bus. Byeeeeeee!!!

Have a Happy Christmas

For the past weeks, I was worried about not feeling the Christmas spirit. Sure it was a little cold outside, there were Christmas trimmings, everyone greeting you an advance "Merry Christmas", you can hear Christmas carols... but something is missing. For one, I didn't go gaga on the holiday rush. Yes, I didn't shop for gifts like I usually do. With that, I want to say "sorry" to my inaanaks, my friends and beloved. I don't have the time and I am saving up (excuses... excuses...). I'm sure you guys will understand.

But not that I really didn't give out any present at all. I chose to pick out only those who have truly touched me this 2008... those who helped me make it through this year. Just like Santa, I have to double check who's been naughty or NICE, haha! I requested someone to order and pick up yummy "Purple Oven" brownies for those in my list. So if you received one, you are indeed one of the lucky few, hehehe!

But unlike the past Christmas(es), I was able to complete the Simbang Gabi this year. And I am very happy about it. Woohoo!!! Not that I enjoyed the homily of the officiating priest at INB, but I can say that I found the Gift of Peace.

As I was saying... I didn't feel the true Christmas spirit... until the Christmas eve

CREDITS:
FRAME by Digitreats
SANTA HAT by Barb Derksen
FONT Gigi

"What if Christmas, doesn't come from a store?
What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more?"
~ * ~ Dr. Seuss ~ * ~

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

A Debutante Ball

I have lots of photos to share. Yesterday, I attended Christine's 18th Birthday at Aberdeen Court, QC. The party already started when we got there. The guests were already having their dinner while the Debutant is having her pictorial. Since Rellie accompanied Tito Greg to park the Innova, he missed the photo shoot with the rest of his cousins. And while he is away, Glady's introduced me to the rest of their family. Good thing Glady's is with me. Though I was able to meet most of them in Cabiao, I'm sure they already forgot who I am or how I look because it's been months since I last saw them.

Rellie joined our table. We were seated at the first table on the leftmost part of the ballroom. While we were having our dinner, Celine aproached me and asked, "Did you bring your gift, Ate?" I simply replied with, "Yes". And then she told me, "Okay, I'll include you in the 18 Treasures, ha!" I smiled but I was shocked. Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?????????

The actual program started with the 18 Candles. But it's not your ordinary 18 Candles, they injected a twist to make it more fun. The 18 girls were divided into two groups. Each group will have to light one candle and the group members will try to cross the borderline while protecting their candle while the other group tries to blow it off.

CREDITS:
FRAME from A Day to Remember Kit by Merkeley Designs
FLOWER from Sunscrap Niiki and Mil
BALLOONS from Big Birthday Bash by Anaflor Design
HEART CONFETTI from Berlingo kit by Fran
RIBBON from Raspberry Road Designs
PAPER from Easter freebie by Amanda Laborde (Sunshine Sweets)

Next part is the 18 Treasures. As soon as the hosts announced it's twist, my heart started to beat fast. Rellie was laughing out loud and he was teasing me. My palms started to sweat too, yaiks! The girls will be called one by one, and they will have their 30 seconds of fame, hahaha! Participants will have to go in front with their gift, and they will walk like "models". Come to think of it, that would be a piece of cake for me, as in sisiw, but then again... Rellie's whole clan is watching so my eyes popped out when I heard the instructions. OH MY GOD!!! I think my face is burning the whole time, as we were waiting for my name to be called Rellie was saying, "Nakakahiya kasi maglalakad ka sa harap... pero mas nakakahiya sa pamilya ko pag hindi ka nag-model. Isipin nila KJ ka! Ano gagawin mo Chenelyn!?! Hahaha!" Hmmn... so much for your moral support Kuks! I know I have no choice. And so I did what I was asked to do... gracefully! Not only once... but TWICE!!! Yes, twice. After all the girls have modeled their stuffs, the debutant will choose the best model. So ayun... I won, harharhar! So I went to the front again to get my token.

CREDITS:
FRAME from Precious Moments Addon by New Lifes-Dreams
FONT ChangChang

Now it's Rellie's turn to shine. He is part of the 18 Roses... no twist, just the traditional dance with the Debutant. Kainis lang that I was not able to shoot nice photos because of where we we were seated. I will have to wait na lang for the shots of the official photographer. For the mean time... this is what I have... this and a couple more of blurrrryyyy shots.


CREDITS:
FRAME from
FONT Rage Italic

I want to share this funny conversation between Rellie and Alex. "Alam mo ba kung sino ang pinaka-pogi? Ako!". Alex was just laughing in disbelief as Rellie continues, "O dun sa 18 Roses, sino ba ang pinaka-una?" Alex replied, "Ikaw" "Kaya ako ang una kasi ako ang pinaka-pogi! Si Greggy ba pang-ilan?" "Pangatlo", Alex answered. "Kaya siya pangatlo kasi pang-3rd lang sya sa pinaka-pogi." Si Kuks success sa pang-uuto kay Alex, hahaha! Greggy Santos is their cousin who won the VJ hunt for the reality game show HIRED! (QTV 11)and is now a music correspondent in the lifestyle show Livin' It Up.

CREDITS:
FRAME from
FLOWERS by Janeiro (DigiScrap4All)
FONT A Yummy Apology

The night went on and there were lots of kwentuhan and chikahan. But we'd also pause for a while to give way to photo ops. Good thing Rellie's cousins also love to have their photos taken. At least I have something in common with them.

CREDITS:
FRAME from Highland Grunge Kit by Kiki Halbert
TAG from Vintage heritage Kit by Fayth
FONT Forte MT

And here are more photos...

CREDITS:
FRAME by Anaflor Design
FONT Haettenschweiler

CREDITS:
FRAME from Moving Day Kit by Raspberry Road Designs
RIBBON from Colorful Kit by Claudi Designs


CREDITS:
FRAME by Welli Designs
PAPER from New year's Eve Kit by Maria La France Designs


CREDITS:
FRAME from Vintage Spring Kit by Designs by Angelica E.
TORN PAPER from Happy Baby Sampler Kit by Moon Catcher
PAPER from Emma Kit by Amy W. Designs
WORD ART from

Lounging at Banol Island

Welcome to Banol Beach!


CREDIT:
FRAME from Beautiful Day Kit by Sunscrap ( Niiki and Mil)
FLOWER from Aquatique by Juillet

A picturesque strip of paradise in Palawan.


CREDIT:
STARFISH from Beach Party by Suhrfer's Scrap

Where it's powder like sand is finer than Boracay's white sand.

CREDIT:
FRAME from Beach Bum Kit by Scrap by Color with Holley
SEASHELL by Dnadryad

For a small fee of P100/pax, you can already enjoy everything that the beach has to offer.



CREDIT:
TAG from In the Summer Time Kit by Scrap-N-Tag
PAPER by ALangpap

We were on the same flight with this guy (and his GF/Wife) and every now and then we'd bump into him in Coron. Na-nose bleed yata si Kuks sa pag small talk.



CREDIT:
PAPER from Sweet Sprinkles by Shabby Princess
RIBBON from Summer End Kit by Just a Girl's Designs

We ate our packed lunch here at the beach. Our food were pre-ordered from the Hotel Resto. We were supposed to have fresh seafood for lunch. Our original bangkero is in-charge of going to the market and stuff... but... oh well, it's a long story. We still enjoyed our lunch though.

CREDIT:
SEASHELL from Aquatique by Juillet

The sun was playing hide and seek the whole time we were at Banol. But we are thankful and happy that it didn't rain.



CREDIT:
SUN from Plush It Kit by Foxy Designs


CREDIT:
PAPER by Lindsay Jane Designs
WORDART by Sweet Moon Graphics
LIGHTHOUSE by Lindsay Jane Designs
FONT Forte MT



CREDIT:
QUICKPAGE by Ellie Lash

Twin Lagoon

Next on our itinerary is the Twin Lagoon. There were already two batches of tourists when we arrived. A clearance thru the Calis Mountain leads to this spectacular destination. The Twin Lagoon which has an inner and outer bodies of water, is divided by huge... as in huge limestone walls and connected by a small passage which is visible only at low tide.

CREDITS:
PAPER from Another Brick in the Wall Kit by Nicole Kaltenecker
PAPER by Jenni Rousseau (Chaos Lounge)
PAPER by Jenni Rousseau (Chaos Lounge)
FONT Yelly

As soon as our boat was anchored safely, Rellie went down to test the water. It was both warm and cold at the same time. The water is also clear, clean and inviting. They say it's a combination of freash and saltwater.

CREDITS:
PAPER from Beach House Kit by Tina

Still armed with my floater and snorkeling gears, I decided to dive in. Warm and cold nga! Basta it's a different feeling, it's as if the water is divided into two parts.

CREDITS:
PAPER from Piece a Cake Kit by Shabby Princess
FOLDED RIBBON from Tahlia Kit by Scrap-N-Tag

To swim to the place, you have to pass through a narrow opening on the side of the mountain. Going through it is like moving into another world. As mentioned earlier, the opening is only visible during low tide. So we are lucky to reach Twin Lagoon at the right time.

CREDITS:
FRAME from Feeling Turquoise Kit by Tabrizia

Uno... Dos... Tres... Siete Pecados

Our first stop.


CREDITS:
PAPER from Sweet Kit by AmelieScrap
PAPER from Florasia Kit by June Schutrups (Cen'Stuff)
MERMAID from CT Colab Kit by June Schutrups (Cen'Stuff)
FONT BrodyD

Siete Pecados is a cluster of seven small islands. According to legend, seven sisters went swimming against their mother’s wishes. As a consequence they all drowned and afterward, seven small islands sprouted from the sea.


CREDITS:
PAPER from Anne Langpap (Two Peas in a Bucket)
PAPER from Halloween Boo Kit
PAPER from SDK Bday Mini Kit by Lorie (LorieM Designs)
FONT BlippoBlaD
FONT PiccadillyD

Our snorkels are Pink and Blue, teehee... cute!

CREDITS:
PAPER by Kellie mize
FRAYED TWILL from Down By The Sea Kit by 2sweetdesigns
FONT BrodyD

After paying the entrance fee (P100/pax), we were ready to explore the beauty underwater. Manong Caretaker said we were the first boat to visit that day. Early birds. I was so excited to try the underwater cam too! But I was a bit scared to get in so I asked Manong Bangkero if he can provide a rope that I can easily tug and hold on to... in case my fins and mermaid tail fails me, hahaha!

I excitedly took photos of the corals but all I got were these blurrrrrrrry shots. I don't know what went wrong... was it ME or the cam (because I am not familiar with the cam settings)? Or is it because the sun is hiding so my shots are dim? WHATEVER. I enjoyed swimming with the fishes na lang. Sayang din we forgot to bring bread for fish feeding para talagang kagulo at rumble ang mga isda. Manong Bangkero threw in some kanin since we don't have bread. But I wasn't able to capture decent photos of the PG fishes. Thanks to Digiscrapping at medyo nabuhay ang mga blurry shots ko for this layout.

CREDITS:
PAPER from Undadasea Kit by Kim Broedelet(Kimb's designs)
PAPER from Summer Bay Kit by LindaJD
SEA CREATURES from Aquatique Kit by Juillet
FONT BrodyD

I went snorkeling to my heart's content as the place is truly awesome! We were also told that some scenes from the local soap opera "Dyesebel" were shot in some areas of Siete Pecados. Naks! Look at my kikay legs underwater... feeling Dyesebel! Since I wasn't successful in the "corals and fishie" shots... ako na lang ang nag-photo op.

CREDITS:
PAPER from Beach House Kit by Tina
PAPER (FOR CIRCLE) from Sweet Wasabi Kit by Lilipruneau
PAPER (FOR SCALLOP) from Sweet Easter Kit by Rgi Musa
SEASHELL from Beach House Kit by Tina
FONT Hand Of Sean

Coming up... TWIN LAGOON!