Meet Snoopy (pronounced snow-pee, as preferred by my nephew E himself).
He’s cute isn’t he? He’s just about 3 months old, a cross between a Shih Tzu and King Charles.
No, he isn’t my baby, and he’s definitely not sired by my Zune. This is Esban’s new puppy. Took a bath on the afternoon of the 9th, by the gentle hands of my giant, haha 🙂
I know I already have a photo blog, and I’m supposed to fill my new photography blog with posts and photos. But I just can’t help setting up a new Project 365 blog, because I love how clean the blog service looks. Check it out and leave me comments 🙂
While I was blog hopping and Facebooking, I came across a site showcasing destin hotels. Beautiful location, and beautiful hotels too. How I wish we could just drop everything this weekend and fly away to celebrate our ten years in one of those luxury hotels. If only we had the resources…
This year, I hope to finally dig deeper into Photography. I’ve so far setup a new blog that will be devoted to just learning more about Photography: The {Newbie} Photography. There’s nothing there just yet, save the photos that came with the template I used. In time I hope…
to house my Project 365 photos up there. Yes, I’m doing it again this year. And I hope that this time, I make it through to 365. I joined up at the Shutter Sisters 365 Flickr pool, go check it out and join us too.
to have well thought out and carefully written posts that will explain the basics of digital photography to newbies. I had to sign up for a workshop, and eventually a six-week online class (Candice Stringham’s class at the Spraground is highly recommended), just to get a firm grasp of the basics. Others do not have the luxury of time, nor the money to pay for basics classes. I hope they find the blog. To be selfish about it, if I succeeded in writing something that will actually be helpful, that means I truly have learned the concepts.
collaborate with other photographers, newbies, intermediate, and experts alike. Maybe I can find talented people who will hopefully write useful articles to further our learning of photography. Or maybe I can interview them and put together informative pieces.
to have other newbie photographers collaborate with me. Maybe they can have their “column” or something.
It’s very much a work in progress. Nothing’s set in stone yet. Please pray that this blooms into something really beautiful 🙂
I’ve also signed up with Shutter Sisters, and I’ve been going around the site trying to take in the beautiful images. So far, I’ve been inspired by PictureHope.
There’s another membership site that I’m contemplating joining – Clickin’ Moms. There’s a membership fee though, and I don’t quite have the funds for it at this time. Maybe if I earn off traffic and ads on the new blog, I’ll allocate that to a Clickin’ Moms fund or something.
I have owned Maxine since May last year and yet I have not had given the craft the devotion I should have in order to show real improvement in the quality of my photos. Sometimes I think that the photos I used to take for P365 using the Kodak point and shoot than the regular pictures I take using Maxine. Why did I even buy a DSLR if that was going to be the case after all?
So there you go ladies and gentlemen, Photography is on my to-do-list for 2010. Along with the quest for the diet pill that works, although I think USANA’s Reset program may really be the answer to my weight issues. Do not worry, I will tell you all about it once I get on the program. Hmm, does anyone smell the beginnings of a spin-off blog on weight loss? Haha.
Since the boyfriend left NCO I haven’t been eating at The Loop as often as I used to. Okay, it’s also a lot because of my work schedule. Last week though, I had an old favorite – Traditional Chicken Sandwich from the New Bistro Deli of Country Style (you might remember the yummy photo/s I posted here back in May).
I had company, Carlo our VTL 🙂 As he was recently introduced to my blogging world, he knew that the photos I was taking then would end up posted on my blog. We had the exact same thing by the way, trad chicken sammies with their new Strawberry something drink. Lol. Here’s the nice staff preparing our sammiches:
Hmm, let’s take a closer look shall we?
I love that there’s a lot of chicken in there! 🙂
And what do you know, they’d changed the design of their paper cups (and I noticed only after looking at the old photo):
It was a nice and filling lunch. I can have chicken sandwiches like this for lunch everyday. Really.
Okay, I have a confession to make.
This post isn’t really about the sammies. Nah-uh.
I just wanted to say that these were photos I took using my new mobile – an LG Renoir. It has an 8mp camera with Schneider-Kreuznach optics, auto/manual focus, and xenon flash. That’s what sold it to me, over the Nokia E72 that I was originally going to purchase. It connects to Wifi too. I am loving it!
As in any prolonged absence from the blog (last post here was 11/26, is 8 days considered a prolonged absence?), I have accumulated quite a trove of photos and fond memories that go along with each. Just as much as I am excited to tell them stories, I am also anxious about keeping my photos safe. I should seriously consider my online backup options and I’ve narrowed it down to two choices: Carbonite orMozy. It’s just that I need to use my CC for this and I don’t want to do that at this time.
Oh well. I just pray that my PC remains healthy until January…
Anyway, let me start with what this post at my photo blog was all about although those who are also collecting the stickers would already know about it 🙂
I started collecting the Starbucks stickers a few days after their Christmas promo started in early November. The quest for the planner definitely ruined my plans of losing weight before the holidays, as you can see here, but it is now over. I can stay away from expensive coffee until next year!
Don’t you just love the packaging? Definitely better than the plastic that the other year’s planner came in. My brother threw it away already though.
This is the design I chose. There are three available, all different covers with their own textures too. I love the soft velvety feel to this one.
And look at that marker? Isn’t it cute?
And of course the big bonus is the 3000 wishes granted by supporting this promo 🙂
I had another wish granted early. Alfred decided to get me the bag I had wanted for Christmas. So December has just started, and I’ve received my first Christmas present for this year (I wonder if I’ll be receiving more gifts?).
We went to the mall because he wanted to checkout something, then I also wanted to checkout the bag. He promised that if it was something he could afford, he’d buy it for me as a gift. They didn’t have the bags at the Trinoma branch of All Flip Flops, so we went to Megamall the next day. And it was right there on display. It was huge, a lot bigger than I expected. But I also knew that I really really wanted to have it.
I initially wanted to get the blue/brown in the middle, but Alfred preferred the yellow/grey combination. had the pink been available though, I’d have loved to take that but there are so far only two available colors. To be honest, once we found out how much it cost, we left the store to take some time to think it over. I really wanted to have it, and thought about splitting the cost of the bag with the boyfriend. Then I thought, it’s way too expensive.
Eventually though, Alfred decided to just buy it for me, as long as I really wanted it. And I really did. And I love him so much. 🙂
The stinky couches have been taken out, and the cabinets that housed my dad’s toy cars and his and mom’s collectibles from various trips have also been removed. They will never cross over the threshold into this house again. Those are just some bigger pieces of stuff that Ondoy took from us.
Where will the cars be displayed on? What about the little trinkets and what-have-you’s (like Mao’s bust)? They’ve found a new home in three plastic containers. I don’t know if they will ever be displayed again.
It’s been over two weeks since the calamity struck, yet we have not gone back to normal. In fairness, the TV’s been set up. Now atop a smaller TV cabinet – less than half the size of what the original cabinet was (also fell casualty to the flood).
Here’s a preview of how one of the sofas, the ref, and the tables landed when the water receded. Warning: it’s not pretty:
Since Ondoy hit, I have not watched any of the regular shows I used to tune in to. Thank God Tayong Dalawa is already over, haha! I have not seen a single episode of either Lovers in Paris, or the Pinoy Big Brother Double Up.
Even my blogging patterns have not returned to normal. I have a movie to write about, and some thoughts on recent deaths of people I personally knew, as well as how Efren Peñaflorida’s inclusion in the CNN heroes has reminded me of my own past advocacies. In my mind I have written about them. But once I sit here, all I ever have time for is Cafe World in Facebook and reading my friends status updates, checking out their photos and videos.
I haven’t even given serious thought about my strategy for The Biggest Loser – NCO XB Edition. Considering I’m one of the organizers, I can’t be the first to be eliminated! Haha.
We did start going out again though. Yesterday we had to go to the mall to have Alfred’s glasses repaired. It was broken while we were cleaning up outside. He had hung it by the exercise machine, but we were moving it and cleaning in and around it until he forgot about his glasses. So I guess even his Arrow specs were a victim of Ondoy’s wrath too, though indirectly:
They’re okay now, Executive Optical, the store we bought it from fixed it at no cost to us. They didn’t ask for any proof of purchase! This is the third time we’ve taken these specs back for minor repair. That’s wonderful after-care service. 🙂
SM North was on sale so there were LOTS of people there on a Sunday afternoon. First thing I noticed were the kiosks of toys and Halloween costumes. I was tempted to do an early Christmas shopping! It was so frustrating knowing I didn’t have any dispensable cash. 🙁
It was kinda funny though, seeing young boys crying to their moms – probably not having their way about a toy they had wanted purchased right then and there.
Ahh I wonder when I will have a sense of normalcy again? I know that it seems too much for me to complain about this while there are still those staying in evacuation areas around Metro Manila, and there have been so much death and destruction in Northern Luzon. I’m not complaining. Just wondering.
I haven’t even caught up with my Photography class yet. Much less start my new project. 🙁
