right at this mo

im spring cleaning.

i clean the house every week (*luoy*), but because im having a dinner organized for tomorrow, i have to do deep cleaning this time, as the last one was before christmas.

every nook and cranny not spared.

somehow, i miss the lovely nang conching and the slightly coquettish nang gina---who in the middle of her errands, can make a bathroom sparkly white, while still have time to meet up with her lover from the pier.

some people can really multi-task.

to do,to do,to do (part 1)

plans, plans, plans for the near future..goal goal goal


1. visit the national portrait gallery
2. attend the OT national student conference (on the 24-26th of april)
3. attend mass at liverpool metropolitan kings cathedral
4. observe a friend's waterbirth
5. learn how to sew
6. enroll in a summer class (baking,indian head massage or pottery)
7. paint my nails bright red again
8. buy a bike (with a basket)-hopefully in the summer
9. wear more skirts and dresses
10. enroll in a flower arranging course
11. get back on the crosstrainer
12. learn how to ride a horse
13. learn BSL (British Sign Language)
14. connected to number 13, volunteer at SENSE
15. join a restoration group
16. go back to paris and take my dslr there.
17. visit another european country to take photos
18. watch a shakespearean play
19. learn to speak french
20. learn to play an instument (the guitar or the drums)
21. phone a friend who i have not spoken to in a very long time
22. bake my own victoria sponge
23. attend a wellness retreat
24. visit iceland and dip in the blue lagoon
25. grow my own flower pots.

...these are plans which dont have a deadline, (unless stated)...they may or may not happen, but my heart flutters for these...i thought id share them so i remember to reach for it.
and as one great inspirational supergirl Aileen said, so they will come true.

northern saturday by gigi

24th of january...

the boys and i went to nearby liverpool...to enjoy its sights and its delights...
had lunch at a greek resto Kimos (no photos, what??),went to the Cavern (the Beatle's first gig).. went to hope street, which connects the catholic and the anglican cathedral, went around the streets to see street art scattered...went to philharmonic pub (the most ornate pub i have ever seen)and headed back to manchester.

who is gigi you ask? my canon digicam (not the dslr), thus my grainy photos thru pumped up ISO..



i hate it when my lips smile and my eyes look the opposite



trying hard kaayo



street bound




the duck...land/water mobile

* * *



thats me and the birthday boy back at manchester..

at an italian resto,named Leo's..a small family owned resto, where Paul booked for us..



my favourite calamari starter



goat cheese on toast as starter for paul

mark had calamaris too, while adrian had soup



adrian's main, meat ragu and spaghetti




penne chicken for mark



prawn and lemon rice, whilst you can see paul's seafood risotto



paul and i had tiramisu..i had coffee latte and paul had espresso



adrian's cheesecake; cafe latte, and mark had apple pie and hot chocolate




time for some snooze



late night, manchester city centre


(more photos from my other cam to follow)

mancunian escapade

adrian's turning a year older on the 28th.

his son Paul invited us over to manchester (where he is based for work--he is a sound engineer for concerts and gigs), for a weekend of celebrating his dad's birthday and a little tour at nearby liverpool.

we brought mark, adrian's second son, with us, and made a big weekend out of it.

we left the house at 4:30pm on Friday (with traffic and some toilet breaks) we arrived at 10pm at paul's flat, and went to have our favourite indian meal.

here are some pics of the first night taken by Gigi (my canonG10,haha).

pardon our faces. i drove the entire way (to give a break to the birthday boy) and thats how i look after work.


the yummy asian spread


us...we cant wait to start digging in


birthday shock..he didnt know,haha



he was a lil bit shy


dont touch the fire!!!



pistachio ice cream

note: i looked more human the next day,promise...lol.

* * *

(more photos tomorrow. if i can swing it...)

weekend off

normally, when things get too busy, id always always have time in the weekend to do a short update...not this weekend though...

im unable to this time as im computer-less this weekend.

adrian and i are celebrating his birthday with his sons at manchester and liverpool.

this may sound too presumptious, but i know, a handful do care to know whats happened to me, and telling them, im fine and safe, is the least i could do. (because i know, they genuinely wonder where ive been. just like i do for them.)

wish me loads of great food and adventures...(and sleep,please!).

PS: i'll catch up reading your entries when i get back sunday night. tata!

alleluia

someone heard my inner pleas and prayers...

now, i dont have any excuse not to get one...


amazon,here i come!!!! =)


* * *

photography friends...let's volt in!

a beautiful thought

plans plans plans..

if only i have the time. and the energy..

on another thought...Sasha Ysobelle...the (chosen) name...

just a beautiful thought.


* * *

photo: ellie..the cutest flower girl i have met

eyecandies

anything pretty and beautiful always make me smile.

i thank God im blessed with beautiful and talented friends who make use of their God-gven talents and beauties to use to inspire others and put me in "smiley mode".

work was shitty (literal sense of the word). a patient had a bad case of stomach flu when i went to do asssessments with her, and decided that she cant wait for the toilet. (im not fussed, but i was running late for the next assessment). poor woman,i had to convince her, that its not her fault and she should not be embarrassed as alot of patients in hospital sometimes tend to have 'bad tummies' whilst in hospital as their immunity is weak.

i got home, and the first thing i did apart from biting into an apple was turn on my laptop and check my multiply and my favourite sites.

gosh, it doesnt take alot to make me happy.

i smiled because of patricia's gorgeous new look. so jackie o, with sex. loving it.

i smiled (and fell in love) with the gorgeous photos from aileen's site. she is one helluva photographer. some people just have it all, and she's one of them.

i smiled because of my orders from cath kidston are apparently on its way (only tea towels, mind you,haha).

i smiled because my sister ana photographed a pre sinulog event ,HED KANDI(which hopefully will come out in sunstar --or banat,haha).

and i smiled because i have two weekends of celebrating adrian's birthday. this weekend is at manchester and liverpool (yup! the new european city of culture). and the weekend after, here at our home,where the family will have to enjoy (or endure) my un-imaginative cooking, haha.

my jaw is having spasms from over smiling. *nwyawnnn*

sinulog memories

nostagia found me when i looked at mai's breathtaking photos at flicker.

the sinulog celebration has always been memorable for me, because all the time i was in cebu, it was a family celebration for us, sinulog.

memories surrounding the sinulog are:

-every year, my entire family (including the auties and uncles) bring food and do some sort of picnic at fuente osmena and stay the entire day to watch the parade, while us cousins would loiter within robinsons to get a glimpse of the festivities amidst the throng of people. but we know, we have a basecamp (our picnic) at fuente rotunda to go back to, if we wanted to eat,catch up with family and get fed.

-the last two years before i left, mama and i would attend the religious parade. years before, i attended the parade with some friends or other people while she would do it with my papa.

-when i started working in radio, every year, the radio station would have a street party by the fuente rotunda and it was a massive event.

-my papa, on three consecutive sinulog occasions was in hospital (one year, he had a aneurysm removed, the second year,he was hit by a jeepney, and the third year he had a stroke). on all occasions, he was in cebu doctor's hospital. he always wanted to come out of the hospital to see the parade against doctors wishes. it was how important the sinulog was for us. the fourth time he was in hospital on sinulog, he died.

-bestfriend and cousin karla and i used to gorge on cheeseburger deluxe from Brutus and a cornetto from Deli France every year until they closed. it was the beginnings of a dangerous food habit (haha).

-karla met her second boyfriend C from a sinulog party which i organized. and i also was the one who orchestrated for them to meet.

-my sister Ana got burned from a cigarette butt by one of the sinulog revellers in one of the sinulog street parties.

-i bought my first Nikon film cam (not an SLR) because it was Sinulog. i took loads of pictures of myself, my family and the street party. i miss that cam.

-i used to be very busy for Sinulog week when i was in cebu...events to emcee, parties to organize and gigs to go to...

-in the later years, my brothers Jojo and Roi would be with their companies and they would have booths for the sinulog too. but even so, they would still catch up with the family picnic and meet up with the rest of the family.

-the Sinulog religious procession was an event in itself, after it, there were people to meet and talk about last year's sinulog and how the new sinulog was going to be.


- - -

-my father died on one sinulog week. a week he would have been very excited for, a week where he would have been dancing and appreciating the sounds and smell of sinulog (he was blind the last few years of his life)...he also died in cebu doctor's hospital where my family was mourning his demise, while the rest of cebu was at its most colourful and at its liveliest.

now, sinulog for us is not about the parties anymore, the parade, nor the gigs, it is more now remembering his life whe he was around, novena and prayers for his soul.

sinulog for me now, is more about remembering him. and keeping him alive in my family's hearts.

one day, my family will be brave again to dance the streets to the sinulog beat.



friends and i at sinulog...you can see my papa seated on a stool amidst the partying crowd




my sinulog buddy (cousin Karla) always and forever

catching up with moi

i have been so busy. so tired the last few days that i miss updating my blog.

university is back again (full on! essays and projects, grrrr!!).

work is going manic. can you imagine, a hospital calling itself on "black alert". it means OT's are on overdrive to get patients out of hospitals. i was asked to do some overtime work but i just couldnt because i need a good work-life balance (hello? im a married woman!). so i opted to do extra hour or two during the days, instead of working on weekends. (i am a student, i need time for research and time for rest). my weekends are spent to nurturing my spirit and my soul. as much as i love a fat bank account, i need a "me-time" (its part of my new year rewards for myself. plus, photography work comes on weekends so id rather have that,hehe.

and rest too. adrian and i are busy working people, we need the night time to catch up how one's day went, and talk in bed until we both fall asleep. on the weekends, we catch up on "date"moments if we were up to it.

just after university, i look this tired and weathered...the very reason why i know i need my rest and "nurture-self"time ...


* * *



today being a weekend, i cooked adrian a nice breakfast. while he opted to do his OU work in the afternoon, my afternoon was spent with my friend E who broke up with her boyfriend (of 18 months), just this week. we had the afternoon time to go shopping, and giving her a "getting over a break-up make-over".

it was a big pressure on my part to be asked to be her personal shopper and style guru for the day, because i for one know that style is inherent and quite personal.

i have been out with two friends before to give them advice to give pizzazz to their wardrobe, i was hesitant to give advice to E because she does not mince her words and always was very opinionated to other people's sense of style.

but having been asked out of all our friends to go with her to give her a make-over was so flattering and pressuring at the same time. what if she doesnt like my choices for her?

in the car, i already asked her, what she had in mind. as i know E now, for more than 5 years, i know what her style is (she goes for classic simple tailored cuts, which can get boring if one is not too careful). she asked me to give her some oomphe and jazz her up without changing her personality. most of all, she had a budget in mind.

i got excited. at the same time scared. i knew she was stick-in-the-mud type of personality. and she was a hard person to convince to overexperiment so i avoided a big jump. i just made sure she was going still for simple, classic cuts but with more impact with colour and accessories.

in the end, we ended up buying her some statement scarves (they are in season but can be recycled with different outfits), and a waistcoat to go to pubs and wear over simple white tees, and bought her some statement jewelry (fashion rings and bangles), as well as the ultimate LBD, which can be worn 20x in a different look with different belts, two wide belts (she has small hips and wants to widen it a bit to give her some shape), and a nice patterned tights.

she treated me to coffee and cakes afterwards as a thank you for doing it for her and she couldnt wait to wear her new finds. (which made me smiling from ear to ear).

i never knew cheering up a broken-hearted friend could be this fun. it wasnt just about talking about the relationship over and over again, it was looking forward to a new self, reinventing oneself,and being creative with one's wardrobe.

and she already booked me for the next two months with her daughters. now, i wonder if i still accept cake as payment for my personal shopping services. i will be the one who'd end up with nothing to wear in the end.

*sigh*

adrian and i were in london today to do some banking. and since it was a sunday and easier to park,we took the car.

everytime we stop at a redlight, i keep sighing and saying, i wish i can just jump off and photograph the little sights that i see... unfortunately, it might be easy-(ier) to park on a sunday, but its still a rarity.

but nothing tops this off. love,love,love her shoes. it looks comfy yet cute.

too cute for words.






i swear, im praying for this recession to get over and done with, so that i can go back to spending without a care (for unnecessary purchases, i.e.shoes).

(i know,i know, this balletpointe-type shoes with lace would only look adorable on women with ankles, but there's no law to ban me from wearing one..darn these cankles! calves+ankles joined into one,lol).

..dont you just love spying on people?

dress rehearsal

i may not have openly said it, nor have i shown it much, but i have committed myself to saving some pennies. and truly, this is because of the recession going on around us.

the unfortunate thing, is that, we want to be tight without sacrificing much of our lifestyle.

since adrian is having his big birthday this year, i thought of ways in saving some hard-earned cash. initially, my plan was to get him a small party in one of our favourite restaurant. this year, celebrating in a restaurant for a group of people is not a joke, when you dont know when you still have your job.

a three course meal would be around at least 30 pounds per head in a restaurant, excluding drinks. now if your party is for 6 people, that is alot of money. so i thought, i might as well utilise my own (amateur) cooking skills and prepare a good night for adrian's family. a three course meal at home will be 1/3 that total price and (hopefuly) equally as tasty.

so tonight for dinner, i cooked one of the menu that i was planning that night. although its not yet a definite, i just wanted to brush my skills, whether i still could cook it.

i almost forgot how tasty this lambshank recipe was.

let me share with you what our dinner tonight was...a dress rehearsal of sorts.

i call this "lambshank surprise.."--(coz you get to open the foil yourself on your plate and see the beauty in it.)




i love lambshanks...its meaty and juicy



standing it on the veg
(leek,carrots,garlic,onion,sage,rosemary)



in a roasting pan...



after 2 and 1/2 hours


i roasted potatoes too (for adrian..its rice for me,haha)


the meat just fell off the bones...

* * *

(i might write the recipe if im not too lazy)

the point is...

wilting balding heathers are still beautiful

a few people had already asked me what my fascination is to flowers inside my home.

its simply beautiful. anything pretty always inspire me.

anything nice to look at is always uplifting.


and ---old withered stems or petals are a curious fascination for me to insert in old notebooks, books, and today, to photograph.


something a bored and tired mind can always appreciate.

for the love of polaroids

because i cant sleep, i thought of doing something with my time... my eyes are overly blurry yet i still keep going.





i need new socks...




this feels like circa 1980s,haha=)




the regent street festival's display of old cars really made this look more authentic..

therefore, i conclude...i need to get myself a polaroid camera...

(but with the cost of films and recession--its just a "want", not a "need"...okey, maybe i'll wait til 2010..for the meantime, i'll contend with playing polaroidising my photos)..

jetlag

i feel like i am. i have been sleeping in funny times (whenever i feel like it basically) the last few days (since this flu) that since last night, i could not sleep at night time.

its now 6 am, i cant stay in bed looking into darkness, or trying to read which still cant lull me to sleep.

come 7am, i bet you, id be yawning and crawling beside adrian for my snore.

i am going nuts.

chill

its still been a very brrrr day today....me, in chillax mode

i have officially proclaimed myself queen for these past few days.

i have been on my own, rattling by myself in this house, drifting in and out of sleep, sneezing, coughing and staring in space. i didnt even have the energy to watch tv. i cant stand the computer for too long because my eyes hurt.

there is freedom with just being chill. and it makes me think, i wonder now why people love working at home.(saying that, if i work at home, i'll never ever earn money, coz when im at home, all i do is sleep).

today, i might just change my mind.

received with gratitude

got this from the post today.





isnt that sweet?

cold cold outdoors

i dont know what to say except, brrrrr....


hows things in your part of the world?


* * *

today:

-suffering a fullblown flu

-but still did errands for hubby (secretly planning his birthday dinner)

-so much plans...so little time...i somehow wish my family were here to help me.

-reward for today: "me-time"...sleep...and woke up with a smile.

rewards for myself

i already rewarded myself a vase of fresh flowers from the market. i am a big fan of wild bouquets and unusual flowers, so that was my arrangement of the day/week.
i was getting a "me-time" at the market yesterday, and i ended up with this bunch. and it just brings a smile to me every single day.



you know how we always make lists and resolutions for the new year (i love lists!), and we always end up making excuses in the end of not doing it, i thought of doing a different strategy to keep my brain less pressured from the "promises" i tell myself every year.

wasnt it just year 2005, i promised ot eat a healthy breakfast everyday? its now 2009, i rarely eat breakfast, (even with diabetes) , unless a banana counts every morning, i still have yet to cross that off my list.

i can't blame myself for writing resolutions. i grew up in a mentality of elementary and high school teachers who,after every christmas break, will make me write an essay (with no less than 500 words) what my new years resolution will be.

but im trying to break away from that. although, you might argue, it might just be a case of semantics.

whatever the case, i know for one, resolutions have a positive outlook on it. the only downward side is keeping it within a realistic and achievable scale.

instead,im calling all the positive things for myself, a REWARD. it sounds less stressful, less demanding, yet im so willing to do so on my part.

let me show you the rewards i have promised myself this year-

I reward myself...

-to laugh everyday. find something funny in everything. i owe this to myself, after years of being a "manang" dont you think? i will choose to laugh instead of being angry. after all, mean people are actually trolls with adult clothes on (im laughing already).


-to learn a new dish. as often as i could. i dont want to put a timescale, because once i say everyday, once a week, or a month, then things go bananas. if i learn a new recipe for this year, that is one big reward already. and you're invited to a dinner here at home.


-to learn a new skill.i might try painting and decorating, baking or knitting (is so in nowadays, knit clubs). timescale:within 2009. hmmnnn, it can be carpentry or upholstery, i will do it. (not to mention, anything DIY skill can be ver useful for the house)


-to fresh flowers every week. i used to do this, but the past few months,i was more busy with christmas, i neglected my house flowers. it was just recently, after seeing beautiful poinsettias in the garden centre, and frequenting the market, i started indulging my flower love again.
the flowers can be from the garden, from the store, from the market or from the countryfields..anything will do, and i will do it. saying that, i have an afinity to wild flowers.


-to dance more. im not talking structured dances, or learnt dances. i just need to reward myself with a good old swaying of the hips. i realised on the recnt new years party i have been to, how much exhiliration i get from dancing especially with people i admire.


-to cook more creative meals. recently, we have been eating out alot. (its not healthy for the body and the pocket), and the food can just be replicated in the confines of our cosy home. (seafood linguini, here i come!). and if i did cook, it was the usual fare we would have. its not exciitng any longer. i need to get in gear again.


-to take more photos. there are days, that my embarassment overcomes me. and the knowledge and too much awareness of the British culture makes me paranoid, that theyd think im a weirdo for photographing mundane things, or photographing my food. (i have to know a way around this, maybe join a club here or something, but thats not a priority). thats the reason why, it pains me when i carry my oh-so-heavy camera and end up with no photograhical documentation of a recent gathering. plus, when some people come over to my house too, id be so self conscious even at photographing my guests, can you believe it? i feel as if they might think, id sell their photos to the internet or something. but saying that, when im at their homes, i am all too obliging for them to take photos of me, so that little by little they learn, that its ok to let other people take photos of you. (this can be a long entry,haha). so yeah, i owe it to myself, to click more.


-to sing more. a friend asked me to sing for her christmas party and she wanted to pay me 150 sterling pounds for it, but i flatly refused. she had this posh do for her city friends, and said she wanted to hire a band, but it will cost her thousand pounds. she said, she can hire an up and coming guitarist for 150 pounds, and she wanted me to sing whie he playes the acoustics, but i said no. she just rang me today to tell me that she hired the band in the end whcih she said was crap, excuse my french.
i feel foolish now. i could have saved my friend money, and i could have earned money too. but why did i refuse? i could have sung for free, but i didnt.
i will sing more, and woe to neighbours to hate videoke machines (haha).


-to make a special "me time" for me everyday. it might be 5 or 10 minutes of walking, or an hour of reading an inspirational book. i will do this.


-i will wear more skirts and dresses. i remember adrian used to say to me that what attracted him most, was because i was the epitome of womanness, he said. what he didnt know,i only wore skirts to be more feminine to my quite mature man. i stopped wearing skirts when i hated drafts of cold breeze on my legs in this country.
i should dig them out now. besides, what stops me wearing it, inside the house?


-to handwrite cards and notes to people that mean to me. they deserve it as much as i do. there are those people who will drop everything in a hat for me, a single phonecall, a frantic text, whether they are in timbuktu or zambales, they would call back on really bad scractchy signal, just to assure me, that everything is fine. they are the same people who will run in the middle of a busy day for me, between conferences and cold calls from doctors to go to taboan and buy me my craving then goes back to work smelling of buwad.*teary eyed* i am definitely writing one long one tonight.


-to always choose peace. a happy medium. if not, staying away from unwanted rumormongering to keep ourselves happier and settled. plucking the unwanted stray hairs from my freshly polished leather suite counts too.


i would have wanted more, and even include to lose weight, but that is a reward im unable to do for the meantime because of resources and manpower deficits, i am unable to.

maybe next year, lol.

some moments at Barbs and Paul's day

just sharing some moments from the wedding i did on the 14th of december...
it makes me realize how much i love weddings, because everytime i look at the photos ive done on that day, it always makes me happy...
the bride, when i gave her the cds said "thank you for making my wedding look grander than it actually was"..
i suppose she was meaning about the how simple the entire affair was, but the photos hid all that..

i have yet to do an expensive/grand wedding...and im not about to have one soon, as being a practicing snapper, it doesnt matter whether you are photographing an expensive wedding, a wedding is a wedding, and i was grateful i was given the opportunity to practice.

even in british standards (who hates lavish and garishness) this wedding was no way near grand, but as one is tasked to do the photos, you want to capture beautiful moments, by simply letting things be,and of course hide the not-so-beautiful ones (inappropriately dressed guests,tattoos and whatnots)..

there were moments at the wedding you cant help but talk to yourself and think (do i really want to do this?). when people put you on the spot, its makes you feel uncomfortable. and quite embarassed really. but then, working in a hospital taught me, that you have to rise above that, move on and do what you're there for. i that day's case, i was asked to take photos.

i suppose, i love being a hobbyist. it gives me the excuse of being a newbie to taking photos of weddings, plus no pressure on my part. they werent expecting much from me, because my friend who recommended me said, i am not a seasoned photographer, just someone who is learning the ropes..bt overeager to do so.

for a bride who would rather have that than her nan's disposable camera photos, she was all too happy to have me...

both ends win. she gets photos from a photographic enthusiast who's too eager to please, while i get to practice.

bring in the next bride!



getting excited to go to the church



bridal march



the officiating vicar closing the door



self conscious kiss



i can only be of this distance during the whole ceremony..no flash



after the ceremony, i was able to take the photo of the small crowd


all eyes on the bride


getting ready for the reception...

*NOTE: more photos on my multiply page...ragenstevart.multiply.com

new year, new leap

since thursday, i had this ticklish cough on my throat. i knew it was turning out to be cough but i ignored it, thinking it will vanish with water and rest. but so far, i was not successful with the rest part, as since new year, i was busy as a bee, and water sometimes becomes forgotten.

last night, i had to sleep in the other room because i kept tossing and turning in bed, and my cough was getting louder and louder. it was unfair on adrian who needed his much needed rest, so i asked if i could sleep in the guest room, or else not sleep at all. bless him,i think he didnt realise i was coughing, but i cant rest when i know, im waking him up with my tossing and turning and coughing bouts.

today, he put his foot down. he said, i needed to drink a cough medicine. he knows how i hate cough meds because the taste always, always, trigger retching from me which can lead to gorging out my meals.

i remember since i was a kid, it took a copious amount of bribery and threatening from my parents and 4 people to hold me to just let me take down cough medicine. i didnt have a problem taking down tablets and capsules but to let me drink that putrid taste of medicine, was always torture and chaos at our household.

all through my life, i have been waiting for that genius to invent a cough tablet (i still havent discovered one yet, everytime i go to a pharmacist, it was always a liquid medicine given to me, which always get refused on my part).

so today, i braved it. i guess, its part of being an adult. knowing that if i dont take the medicine, it will be me who would suffer in the end, especially work is back tomorrow. and life goes on (and still gets harder) whether one is at the pink of health or whether coughing like a barking dog.

i pat myself in the back. by downing so far, 3 rounds of this medication, i have reached a milestone in my life.