I Forgot To Remember To Forget

Okay. Is this weird because it feels really weird. I know this shouldn't be a big deal and I don't even know why I'm writing about this. Aaaaaaaaaaargh!

We had a relationship. We can't pretend that we didn't. But before that we we're really... really close friends. And there's no reason we can't have that again. I shared a big part of my life with you. I don't want to burn bridges.

And now this!?!

Back from Pixie Hollow

It's ALX's 7th Birthday!!!

Celebrating in her cute wings and petal skirt, she invited her fairy friends, the pirates, the lost boys, the redskins and the sparrow men.

CREDIT:
FRAME by Danielle Engebretson Designs

Yesterday, we went to Dad's Glorietta to celebrate with Alx. Though puyat from attaching fringe trim to my costume, I was already at the venue by 10:30AM to help decorate together with Fe, Ric-Ric and L.A. I was also able to finish the AVP before the party actually started. Cramming!

The party was great. Alx' friends and classmates are in costumes too. Raven look good on his Pirate costume while the girls dressed up as Pixie Hollow fairies.

CREDIT:
TEMPLATE by Danielle Engebretson Designs
FLOWERS from Origami Kit by Akiloune
PAPER from Lemonberry Fizz by Kimi's Kreations
PAPER from Quincy Garden Club by Amanda Thorderson

I figured, even if I put on fairy wings... I don't look like a fairy, hahaha! Negra kasi! So I came up with this outfit and everyone loved it. I was able to pull up as Tiger Lily. To refresh your memories on who Tiger Lily is (lifted from Wikipedia)... she's the princess of the Piccaninny Tribe of Indians (Native Americans) living on the island of Neverland. In the Disney version Tiger Lily is kidnapped by Captain Hook and Smee. Hook threatens to kill her if she does not tell him Peter's hiding place. She remains silent, as she does through the whole movie, refusing to betray Peter. She is saved by Peter Pan and he takes her to her tribe.

CREDIT:
PHOTOMASK by Bouille

That's Tiger Lily with uhmmn... with a bystander! Rellie's supposed to dress up as Mr. Smee but he's LATE, thus, the tambay look, haha! I was looking forward pa naman to this photo op... boo! He knows I was disappointed at him for wasting the pirate props I bought him. But I can't afford to stay mad kasi he brought the (very long) feather (I placed in my head) to complete my outfit. As in binunot from his favorite panabong (fighting cock). So now he's forgiven.

Kakatawa talaga, even one of the waiters approached me and said, "Ma'am bagay po sa inyo ung costume nyo. Kamukha nyo po talaga si Pocahontas!" Hahaha, toink! Ayos!

The not so young ones are also in costumes. They dressed up as elements of the wild. Fab talaga!

CREDIT:
FRAME by Hannah

Here's Inang Elo, she looks young in her blouse with butterfly print.

CREDIT:
PAPER from Happy Birthday Harmony Kit by Melanie Ann Designs

We had fun at the party. More pics can be found here. Went home full of pixie dusts and happy thoughts!

Indian Pana Kakana-kana

Just got back from SM North and bought our gift for Alx. Nakabili na rin ako ng costume for Kuks. Hay excited na ako!!! I'm sharing this funny story so you'll have an idea kung ano binili kong gift.

TUYA RENEBOY: "Anong gusto mong gift?" (hugs Alx)
ALX: "Baby Alive!!!"
TUYA RENEBOY: "Baby Alive? Ano yun!?!"
ALX: "Yung doll na kumakain, nagsasalita tsaka pumupupu"
TUYA RENEBOY: "Meron ba nun!?!"
ALX: "Five thousand pesos kaya yun!"
TUYA RENEBOY: "Ang mahal naman. Pwede ba bigyan na lang kita ng P50 tapos sa iba mo na lang hingin yung P4950?"
ATE CHENELYN: "Hindi ba pwede CHICKEN ALIVE na lang!?! Madami si Tuya Boy nun! Tumitilaok pa!"
(Alx turns her back on us and pretends she's studying)

Hahaha! Ayos ba yun!?! Dinedma na nya kami, as in after that.

Tomorrow's gonna be a very busy day. I'm pretty sure I'm gonna love it. For now, I will have to practice my "♫♫ Indian Pana Kakana-kana... ♫♫ " and my Sun Dance as well. At sana makatulog ako... umeepekto na naman ang low EQ.

I Brought Bread Mama!

"I brought bread Mama!"

That's what we usually hear whenever Tito Ram visits us here in Novaliches. This guy has a very contagious laughter and his shoulders shake whenever he cracks jokes. I remember Mamu telling me that Tito Ram once told him that among my siblings, I am his favorite.

Growing up, I wasn't really able to share a lot of conversations with him. Because maybe, I was too shy to converse in English back then. Plus the fact that we rarely or rather, we only see him and Anj during special family gatherings. But something I won't forget about this guy is how he granted me a favor almost two years ago. When I was about to start with my business, I needed an air condition unit. His work is in line with sales so I gave him a call and asked him if he can arrange a 6 months 0% interest plan for the 1.5HP that I was about to purchase at Abenson. Most shops were offering only 3 months 0% interest plan. And he gladly did it for me. He called up the officers at Abenson and my request was granted. Until now, I am still using that AC unit for my shop.


CREDIT:
FRAME from Sunscrap by Niiki and Mil
FLOWER from Sunscrap by Niiki and Mil
FONT Bitch Cakes

Today, I am honored that I was able to witness an Indian tradition of laying a family member to his resting place. I went to Tito Ram's wake at Don Bosco Makati with Kuya Dennis. Mamu was already there when we arrived. Her vacation was cut short because of this incident. Luckily, they were able to book a flight for her back in Manila Sunday night. I was greatly touched by Angela's speech during the Eulogy. She talked about her bonding moments with her Dad and described him as "He is my world". I felt a pinch in my heart when she shared with us that she doesn't want to go home because everything there will remind her of her Dad. I hope in time Anj will be able to recover from this sad moment. Angela is a tough girl. I know she will get by...


CREDIT:FRAME by Cindy Doerksen

I took this photo of Anj and Tito Ram during Melvin's graduation Party. That same night, he was asking everyone the question, "When will we see eachother again?". Little did we know that that will be the last time that we will ever see him. Leaving us at the age of 71, I know he was able to live a good life.

Good Friday Procession

Months before the Holy Week, I was planning to spend the long break in Bicol and enjoy the sands of CamSur and Caramoan. I don't know what exactly happened, I was told some people backed out from the said trip. So it was canceled.

Weeks before the Holy Week, Mels sent me an SMS asking if I want to go with her in Manaoag then go to a beach in Bolinao, Pangasinan afterwards for a little R&R. She even emailed me pictures of the resort where we're gonna stay. I said yes. But that too was canceled.

Rellie was asking, "Bakit aalis ka pa? Bakit hindi ka na lang umuwi sa Cabiao?" And he started telling me stories about how they spend the Cuaresma in Nueva Ecija. The Visita Iglesia, the procession, the bukid lunch, his "panata", and the Php120 special halo-halo that he said he'd buy me one if I go with him. That did the trick.

We joined the solemn Good Friday procession which made it's way around the streets around 5PM. It was my first time to see the parade of antique images of saints bigger than me. This is something which tourists should see as well. Imagine how many people carried the whole set of "The Last Supper". There were a lot of people watching so it's hard to get a good angle for photo taking.

CREDIT:
PAPER from The Colurs of Tuscany by Chaos Lounge
FLOWERS from Brise Marine Kit by Petit Moineaux

I uploaded more photos in my facebook account. It was a long procession. Sabi nga ni Rellie, "Magdasal ka ha... 'wag ka puro picture jan!" Here's the list of what we saw:

1. San Pedro
2. Ang Mabuting Samaritana
3. Nasalubong ni Jesus si Magdalena
4. Pagpasok sa Jerusalem
5. Pagpapahid ng Pabango ni Magdalena sa Paa ni Jesus
6. Huling Hapunan
7. Pananalangin sa Getsemane
8. Apong Nakagapos
9. Si Jesus sa Harap ni Pilato
10. Senor dela Pacencia
11. Nazareno
12. Tres Caida
13. La Pieta
14. Virgen dela Soledad
15. Santa Marta
16. Santa Veronica
17. Maria Jacobe
18. Maria Salome
19. Maria Magdalena
20. Santo Entierro
21. La Dolorosa
22. San Juan Evangelista

The center of attention is the "Santo Entierro" (Holy Internment). Right after the procession, the locals will then get all the flower decors of the Santo Entierro as they believe these are miraculous or blessed. Nanay was able to give me some and she told me to keep it in my wallet. I also learned that Rellie's family mixes the dried flowers and leaves from the Santo Entierro with the fertilizers for their farm. Everything for good harvest.

Another interesting thing is that part of Rellie and his Nanay's Good Friday "panata" is to help carry the Santo Entierro as it is being brought back inside the Cabiao Church.

CREDIT:
PAPER from Purple Addict by Kawouette
RIBBON by Anja Jahn

Once laid in the altar, people then line up and they are given a few minutes to say their prayers. Some even wipe their handkerchief in the Santo Entierro.

After prayers have been said, they carry back the Santo Entierro to its glass cabinet.

CREDIT:
PAPER from Fall Fever

Despite the heat of the sun, the fact that it's hard to move around, and the long walk... I'd say that this is quite an interesting experience for me. I was amazed by the sheer volume of people who join the Good Friday procession. Add to that the many grand heirloom carrozas and santos. This really is a nice sight to behold. You should try this sometime.

Into the Sun

“Keep your face always toward the sunshine -

and shadows will fall behind you.”

~ * ~ Walt Whitman ~ * ~

CREDIT:
PAPER from Twinkle Toes by Miss Mint
TEMPLATE by Anita Designs
FONT Mistral

Back to reality. Sigh.

My itchy feet is back in Manila. So far it's the longest break that I had for the year. But I'm starting to feel the post-holiday blues. Oh well... good thing I have another trip to look forward to in the next few weeks.

I hope you enjoyed your Holy Week break as much as I enjoyed mine! I'll be uploading more photos soon so visit me again.

Lying in the Sands of Laiya

Sorry if it took me days before I post about my Laiya weekend. I have to wait for the photos from Joy's cam. Most of which are already up in both my Friendster and Facebook account by now. The only difference that you will see in this post are some side stories

Oh yes, I had another trip to the beach! Actually, the night before this trip, I was already having second thoughts if I should really go or not. Something bad happened recently at my DL so I gave it a lot of thought. But I ended up thinking, "Why should I be affected?" For sure "their" purpose is to send me a warning or something. So I decided not to be afraid and just go on and play fair. My second reason is... I haven't told Kuks about the trip until 1130PM, Friday night He was shocked and a little irritated based on his tone. "Kelan nyo pa na-plano yan!?!" Hehe. But after some discussions, he eventually said, "Okay, mag-ingat ka ha."

Puyat from packing my things, and praying that nothing bad will happen while I was away, I think I didn't hear my alarm clock. I jumped out of bed, had a quick shower and I hit the road. Muntik na ako maiwan. I met up with Joy and her family at GMA station. Laiya... here we come!

CREDIT:
CAR from Cars Go Beep Beep Kit by August Designs
FONT Jokerman

After a long drive, a lot of stop-overs, and getting lost on the road twice, hehehe ... I had a chance to be one with the sea again *warm heart* We checked in at Sigayan Bay Beach Resort. We settled for a one big air-conditioned bedroom on the second level, with a veranda, private CR, and refrigerator.

There are also air-conditioned Nipa huts, cool 'di ba!?! This package also includes private CR, refrigerator, hot and cold water dispenser with 5 gallon purified water at Php4000. Not bad.

There were a lot of bakasyunistas and we are lucky that there's still one available room left. So we took it na.

We rested for a little while inside the room. It felt like we've been on the road the whole day... I can't feel my butt. We lounged around for a bit and took some photos.

CREDIT:
FRAME from Starburst Kit by K Lewis
FONT ArabBruD


CREDIT:
FRAME from Think Spring Kit by Lucia Maleckova (LazyKitty)
TAG by K Teague
STAPLE WIRE by Gunhild Storeide
FONT Cheryl


CREDIT:
FRAME by Manu70
FLOWER from Marvin Kit by Petit Moineaux
TAPE by Sable brule of Line for Digiscrap'mania
FONT DeVinneOrn

I was thinking of taking a nap but the kids are already excited to swim. Well... me too!!! Let's step out and enjoy the sun!

CREDIT:
FRAME from Olivia Mini Kit by Kiki Halbert
RIBBON from ADB Birthday Kit by Anja J.


CREDIT:
FRAME by Kim B. Designs


CREDIT:
FRAME from Grape Crush Kit by A Work in Progress


CREDIT:
FRAME from LittleKit by Helena Monteiro
RIBBON from Candy Jar Kit by Ziggle Designs & Kami Leonard
STAPLE WIRE from Anaflor Design
FONT Kristen ITC

Sun... sun... sun... here we come!!!