Project365

Photography, in Focus

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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.

Sunflower Seeds

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A friend commented (in person) on the lack of new photos uploaded to my blog.  I wanted to say it’s because I haven’t found the push to post the ones I’ve taken recently.  But to be truthful, it’s more because I haven’t really been taking much photos lately.

And that’s sad.

It wouldn’t be a sad fact if the reason for the lack of photos was that I’ve been baking during my free time. But that’s not true either.

Super sad.

So what have I been doing? Nothing really.

And I hate that.

I should schedule the things I’d like to try; devote time to take photos and learn more about photography. I should. Check back next week if I’ve done that already.

I should draw a list of stuff I want to bake and then run up a schedule to actually make them. This one I really want to do. Next week, check on my progress. Please.

Hay, shoulds. But these ones are the type I want to do. So I’m not complaining.

Oh, but I did snap photos of something today:

sunflower seeds

There’s a Pick & Mix kiosk near the building entrance and I pass by it everyday.  Today, I gave in to the pull of these sweeties (though there were plenty more I wanted to get).  You know what they are?  Inside those colorful candy-coating (some of them are pink!) are chocolate-coated sunflower seeds.  These are tiny! And yummy!

sunflowerseeds

Kids Praise and Cookies

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After walking to McDonald’s to meet up for brunch with the boyfriend, we walked to Hi-Top a block over to buy dog food and some brown sugar. I felt like making chocolate chip cookies and though I didn’t look at the recipe I wanted to try, I knew I’d be needing brown sugar.

On the way to the grocery, I saw that the House of Praise was already open. Though I was across the street from the open doorway, I saw the rack of Kids Praise and I was drawn to it.

We went in, then out five minutes later with this:

kidspraise

As a kid, I grew up listening to and singing along with Psalty. How many albums were there? I forgot. But we must have had all of them! Everyone at Sunday School knew the songs and we’d often perform them in the annual shows we’d mount.

I must admit, I still could not help but remember my Aunt when I started listening to this album, but that need not mean sad thoughts.

One of the dreams I’ve had, or one of the things I listed as stuff I’d rather do, may soon start to happen.

I intend to start teaching my nieces and nephews the songs in this album, and if they want to, we’ll mount a mini performance for friends and family. What a wonderful way to learn about Jesus, and cultivate their talents right?  Today our kids, tomorrow Sunday School. Haha.

And what a coincidence too. While I was baking cookies today, I heard the kids singing outside. And they weren’t singing their usual picks – Love Story, Jai Ho, etc – they were singing tunes they learned from Vacation Bible School. Yay!

So I can’t wait til we can start doing this, but I’ve got to map it out first, have some sort of schedule. I hope they’d buy into this, the big girls too.

Wedding Plans

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Before leaving for work on Thursday night my mom asked me to take my Maxine with me and go straight to her office after my shift. She apparently needs some photos for a presentation she’s preparing.  So even while I was already hungry, and sleepy, I went straight to the Seminary.  I snapped a few photos of this map they have in their office lobby. It shows where in the Philippines the ECP is.  We also had to take pictures of the Church’s flag.  It only took 10 minutes tops.

My aunt runs a canteen and I decided to have lunch right there.

becky's place

While eating, my aunt joined me and we had a nice chat.  She’s taking care of the catering services for a cousin’s wedding taking place in July.  This cousin has settled in the US already but he’ll be coming home with his bride to get married at our small beautiful homey church. The same church where my wedding will take place – someday. 🙂

So we talked about what’s going to happen and then she also asked me about our own plans for getting married.  My cousins told her about what Alfred and I have been thinking about and she’s always asked about it since then. She took out her magazines and we had a fun time looking at the beautifully crafted wedding cakes.  We marveled at the gowns too, and the different motifs for the wedding reception.

It’s always been the question of funds that kept us from concretely planning our wedding. But I think there’s something else. We should just decide on a budget, set a date, and then make sure the money will be there. Haha.

I think what’s really keeping me from pushing things forward is that I haven’t dropped a single pound. Seriously. I want to get married in a beautiful gown, be beautiful and radiant.  Have you seen my photos lately? No matter what I do, I don’t look the way I feel or look the way I want to. But I want that for my wedding.

And that means I must shed off some of this extra weight.

I am not looking for the impossible. I will not say that I have to reach my ideal weight before I can get married. That may never happen unless I get a bariatric surgery.  But lose weight I must.  I have an idea of how much, and what’s realistic in the timeframe that I’m looking at.

So the first step to finally walking down the aisle – lose weight. If it means going back to Marie France, or starting a 15-minute daily exercise routine, or popping some diet pills, then so be it.  I’ll start tomorrow. And I’ll take Alfred along for the ride.

Does this seem shallow? Maybe I am over simplifying things. It isn’t really our weight issues that keeps us resetting the wedding date for later. But I needed a reason. So there. 🙂

Anyway, back to my aunt.

becky's welcome

This duck welcomes guests to Becky’s place. It’s right at the doorframe of the red entrance. Cute, no? 🙂

I’d love to have a place like hers, only it won’t be a canteen but a bakeshop or a cafe with lots of books. Hay.

Food and smiles brighten up a dreary day

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If you’ve been following my Tweets, or my Plurks (see the widget on my sidebar), you know that I’ve been pretty much under the weather. Okay – a lot under the weather.  And today, well, the visit I’d been anticipating (read my second and third posts down) has already arrived. So there are two things causing my body aches and pains – acute upper respiratory tract infection (it’s not the flu, doc says) and menstruation. Ugh.

So after the doctor’s visit yesterday morning, I walked home. Good thing there was only a drizzle, so my teensy little umbrella gave me enough coverage. I arrived home and found my brother cooking lunch. I had thought he’d have gone by then, but his plans changed apparently. He was cooking an all-time favorite – Chicken Cola. The weather was perfect for having tinola but we didn’t have ingredients for it so kuya opted to make this other comfort food.

Yes, I consider Chicken Cola as one of my comfort foods. We all love it here. Perhaps not because of its sweetness, but because of it brings us back to our childhood. At least it does that to me. No, I don’t have images from the past going through my mind when I eat it, but the feeling is there. The simplicity of life, and the love of family. So when I don’t feel well, chicken cola can help pick me up.

chicken cola

This photo does not do chicken cola any justice. I’m guessing my brother didn’t add enough ketchup to make it redder. It looks quite pale doesn’t it?

Anyway, another comfort food I had yesterday was banana with cheese spread. Ahh. Simple pleasures.  Who does not love cheese or cheese spreads? I mean even dogs love them right? And we’ve had Cheese Whiz on bananas since we were kids. I never get tired of it.

banana with cheese spread

I realize now that the photo has some R-18 likeness to it, sorry that was never intended. Haha.

Eating gave me a temporary comfort, but the headache still came in the evening, causing me to miss out on AJ boy’s birthday dinner. I had all intentions to take photos of his well-wishers, his cake, and all his cuteness. But I slept through it.

I do have a photo of this sweet little boy from earlier that afternoon:

birthday boy

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