I registered at the Fully Booked website at the height of my search for paper back editions of the Twilight Saga. Last night, I received their first ever e-zine containing some of their new releases.
This is what caught my attention:
The image is linked to a review of the cookbook.
I really want to grab a copy. Along with the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (which, I realized just today, was the big thick marked down cookbook I saw at NBS, SM Otis when we were there three weeks ago!). If I can’t enroll for a baking class, then these top-rated cookbooks have got to teach me what I need to know. Haha.
I really want a new oven. I want it bad. *Sniff*
Oh, and because I was over at the Fully Booked site again, I remembered how I’d love to get their Discount Card which entitles holders to 10% off your purchases. The thing is, you need to accumulate 10k’s worth of receipts (all spent within a year) to receive a free one, or you could buy one for 700 pesos. If only someone would get me one. Haha. 🙂
I belong to a Yahoogroup of mostly women who spend a lot of their time on their computer – both on- and offline. A lot of them create tags using PaintShop Pro; they would then offer those tags up and group members can have their name put on them, for free. Like this one:
I am in three groups now. One is a group owned by a tagger, and I am just there to snag. The other is a sharing group where I get most of my freebie fonts and other graphics files. I joined that one so I can have something to share in this third group. Group number three is open to both taggers and snaggers, but tags aren’t the only things shared. There are sub-groups or committees in T4S, much like an organization. There are groups for people wanting to learn PSP, and a support group for those who want to lose weight, a recipe sharing circle, among others.
The first group I ever joined some three or four years ago was Friend2Friend. F2F was not just about the graphics files, it was really a community of women from all over the world. To this day, I’m not much of a forum person because I got so used to just logging on to my email and seeing all the chatter from women of all ages and from all over.
Although most of the women in the group were much older in years, and led very different lives from mine, I felt that I truly belonged there. That I had found friends. For the past three years, I always receive a lot of interesting Christmas cards posted from the other side of the world. I only resigned from the group because I didn’t have time to perform “duties” as a leader of one of its committees, and eventually I couldn’t be an active member. Perhaps it’s time to think about rejoining.
Anyway, it was through F2F that I first learned about PaintShop Pro. I signed up for the PSP Workshop and went through tutorials that taught me the basics of the software. There was always someone available to help you out with a software question, specially when you were dealing with the weekly assignment.
Whew, I had no intentions to reminisce about F2F. What I really wanted to share was this photo that I recently received from one of the groups. It reminded me of Auntie Nellie’s house in Bangaan (in Sagada, Mt.Province):
I seriously don’t know why I don’t have a picture of her house that shows her lovely front yard that’s as filled with color as this artwork is. Maybe I do but I’ll have to search for it.
I’m not sure that I ever had a picture in my mind of the house that I’d like to grow old in. But I think it pretty much looks like this. Mind you, I have no green thumb, so I have no idea how I could get a lovely garden. But since I am dreaming, it’s not impossible.
I’d always thought that the sala or living room would be the central part of my house, just as it is in my parents’ house. We are a family who spend their time at night gathered around the TV. We don’t hie off to our rooms until bedtime. Lately though, when Alfred and I discussed future homes, we kinda agreed that the kitchen would probably eat up a lot of the space. He would cook, I would bake. So maybe the kitchen will be the central space in this, our house. I can’t wait to map it out how it will look, and to pick the many appliances we’ll be needing. 🙂
When we were building this house at 19th street, where we all still live, everyone was involved in choosing the furnishings. There were times that we’d go to the builder’s depot as a family, just to pick out the bathroom faucets, kitchen sink, tiles and even paint. I actually enjoyed those times. I didn’t mind at all. If we do decide to move in to the condo instead of renting it out, I know I will have fun fixing it up. Unless the cost frustrates me, that is.
Until today, I hadn’t really felt any direct impact of the fall of financial institutions in the US. I heard on the news today that PhilAm Life, possibly the biggest insurance company in the country, is being sold to new owners. Read the story here.
I knew that AIG had business in the Philippines, but somehow it had escaped my mind that that business included PhilAm Life. I have an insurance policy with PhilAm, so does my brother. My dad has two. Our relatives also have policies with them. Our agent is a family friend.
PhilAm Life is currently assuring policy holders of the company’s stability. No one less than their President and CEO Jose Cuisia, Jr. has come out for media interviews. He is up there confidently telling anyone and everyone that the company has a strong and stable portfolio, and that even if there is a change in ownership, they’re procedures and practices won’t change.
Be sure you’ve read my previous Bohol posts before continuing with this one 🙂 Read Parts one, two, and three.
From the Loboc River Cruise, there was only stop left for us in the tour – the oldest church in the island and the second oldest in the country: Baclayon Church.
I didn’t get a very good picture of the church because it started to drizzle when we got there. But the Church faces the sea and the view from the museum’s windows were so picturesque. The breeze was refreshing too. I understand that the Parish school is right beside the church. It must be difficult to concentrate on school work when you’ve got such a lovely view just outside. 🙂
For lack of a beautiful picture by yours truly, I turned to my trusty search engine and found these lovely photos:
Don’t you just love those colors? Here’s another photo, too bad the uploaded photo is quite small.
It would have been nice to explore the interior of the Church, but they had a seminar ongoing at the time, so we didn’t get to walk around that much. I remember having gone there the first time I was in town in 1999 or 2000. But I didn’t get any photos. Old Catholic churches are interesting even just for all the history you can find in its furnishings. The fact that it was already raining outside, and the sun was hiding, added to my frustration at only having my camera phone for pictures.
They have a museum here that charges a 20 peso entrance fee. I could have skipped that, but Alfred was interested so we walked up. There’s a souvenir shop in the vicinity too.
The Jesuit-built church at Baclayon is also known as the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. You can read about it here.
By the time we were ready to go out, the rain was pouring. They weren’t allowing vehicles to enter the parking area so our car was outside by the road. Like a boy scout, an umbrella’d Janny came to us toting two additional umbrellas – one for each of us.
The next time I visit Baclayon, I hope there’ll be more sun and we better be equipped with a better camera too. I am sure there was much to see inside the Church itself.
On the way back to the city, we had one more stop – a souvenir shop that allegedly gave discounts. It was a bit more pricey and even with the discounts, you’re better off buying elsewhere. We did buy some of their bead bracelets and necklaces. Those were reasonably priced and they had some good designs too.
This concludes our countryside tour of Bohol. Next post will finally be on our Panglao Island experience – the beach! 🙂
It’s 4 o’clock on a Monday morning and I am wide awake. I feel like I had slept off Sunday although I didn’t really. It’s just a relief that now, I am up, showered, and headache-free. But my my, I am hungry!
To get my mind off food (although I should probably heed my body this time, I wouldn’t want to have another tummy episode later), let me just show you my current desktop:
Photos from AJ's 1st birthday - 6-18-2005
Credits: Desktop Calendar template freebie by Mushy. Background papers and elemenst form the PopN’Art kit by the Scrapbook Graphic Girls – freebie from Scrap N’Art
That’s my nephew AJ on his 1st birthday, three years ago. Isn’t he just cute?
Oh and I was going through my Multiply Inbox and found this. I first heard of lomo from another blogger and I immediately asked a photographer hobbyist friend about it. I was under the impression at the time that one needed special filmand printing services for lomo; apparently I was wrong. The cameras are fairly inexpensive, if I still want one by the end of this week I’d probably order one 🙂
I actually visit the seller to checkout their Local Obagi set. I don’t have a lot of pimples but my skin is prone to black/whiteheads and I have those white pockets of oil all over sometimes. I didn’t see a price tag but I’ve sent them an inquiry already. It all boils down to the cost. It’s not a necessity for me at this point, but if it will be more cost effective that having facials then I’d take it.
I realized that the story of our Bohol adventure isn’t complete yet, now is probably a good time as any to get back to it. I’m not sure if a single post would be able to finish it off, but I know I’d like to take time in writing them. Sunday morning on TV, Kim Atienza’s Matang Lawin, I saw him cruise through Loboc River at night. I knew it was going to be awesome at night – he saw hundreds of fireflies! It was such a beautiful sight.
It’s still way too early to take Zune out for a walk, and he’s sleeping. Yet I can already hear little Sharpei yelping two doors down. I still haven’t taken a photo of them together, but I’ve already got a very appropriate journalling for Zune’s behavior when I do get to scrap a layout of them. Haha 🙂
My friend and colleague, Ingrid, signed up for a Globe post-paid line because they had a promo at our office over the weekend. It was a great deal actually because the phone that came with the Plan 500 already has a 3-megapixel camera among it’s other brilliant features. Our first Kodak digicam was 3.2MP, so no one can really say that that small phone’s photos aren’t of good quality. If I had one, I’d probably buy a micro sd card for it for extra storage. It’s a Samsung phone and it’s really cute, small, and lightweight. I thought my phone was small, but that one was even smaller!
Anyway, enough of this chatter. Lemme grab a bite before I hunker down on my next Bohol post. Until then! 🙂
