Photography Means...

A colleague and friend posted this on my Facebook wall today:

"Saw this quote and thought of you ~ Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever . . . it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything. ~ for the photos you capture, Liza!"

I am deeply humbled and moved by this simple but beautiful message she sent.  I hardly consider myself a "photographer", and I've always aimed not to capture people and places and things.  But moments, feelings and emotions.  And because somebody thought of me when she saw such message, I would like to think that I have somehow achieved what I wanted to do.

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Photo:  One of my favorites--a photo I took of my sister-in-law and my new nephew last weekend. I am also learning how to create photocards in PS.  I love scrapbooking, and I'm finding that digital scrapbooking is so much fun too!  I am learning something new everyday.

Meet Sissy

"Nice to meet you, Sissy!"

Sissy is my new assistant.
She arrived last week, when I was away traveling.
She gave me another reason to look forward to coming home.

I have been drooling for an iPad since it came out in the market.  But if you are an Apple user like me, you will understand why I waited for the next generation to come out before getting one.  Apple has a reputation of making the first release of a new product pretty basic and adding the nicer features in the second and subsequent releases.

I've only had Sissy for a few days and I like her so much already.  I have yet to be convinced that she is worth every penny--I think she is too expensive for what she does, but I am happy with her regardless.

Why "Sissy"?  It's my nickname for Assistant.  Some people call their sisters "sissy".  Well, Sissy is not only going to be an assistant.  She is going to be a friend, a travel companion, a lounge buddy, one that I'll have coffee or tea with, and one that I may even keep secrets with.  Just like a sister.

Countdown

              I am counting down...

              ... 0 days to my next long weekend (I took Monday off--Yay!)
              ... 3 days to meeting my new nephew, Zachary
              ... 7 days to a baby and family photoshoot
              ... 19 days (or less) to the arrival of my iPad2
              ... 20 days to a family reunion
              ... 21 days to the baptism of a new goddaughter
              ... 22 days to the baptism of a new godson/nephew
              ... 27 days to my next and much-needed vacation
              ... 46 days to my Lucas' 2nd birthday

There is so much to look forward to.  I feel so blessed and overflowing with gratitude.  God is good.  I pray that He will make all these happen.  

I hope you too, are looking forward to something nice, special or fun!  Happy anticipating!

***

Photo:  My dear nephew, Nathan, now almost two and a half.  I adore him to pieces.

Getting There

I am getting there

one step at a time,

one workout routine after another,

one healthy meal to the next.

My dear Abs,

Getting you toned is not impossible.

I just need to keep working on it, so be patient with me.

You know how much I hate exercise, but I'm doing it.

So I'm hoping you'll at least cooperate.

Show me some results so I am motivated to keep going.

Our goal is within arms reach, so giving up is no longer an option.

We can do this!

Love,

Will Power

An Eventful Weekend

Pardon me for the overdue post. I was having such an eventful weekend, which I couldn't wait to blog about.  But before I knew it, it was all over, I got caught up with work and travels, and just when I'm ready to blog about it, we are approaching the weekend yet again.

We had a house guest--our pal and Lucas' godfather, Walter.  He came to the US on business and stayed with us for a few days.  Lucas is so fond of him and talks to him like they've known each other for so long.

We took "Ninong Walter" to dinner Friday night at this charming restaurant called Buckeye Roadhouse--one of our favorites in Marin.  We had to come for an early reservation because this place can get packed at dinner time.

Lucas was fairly well-behaved that night.  The crayons and coloring pad did the trick.

While waiting for dinner, I treated myself to a glass of Appletini.

We had fried calamari and baked oysters for starters.

There were too many good dinner choices in the menu.

Walter went for skirt steak, 

while Charles and I ordered the same thing--Braised Lamb Shank in a bed of couscous.  It was perfectly done.

Lucas got his own dinner too--Hotdog with fries.

He didn't finish the hotdog but ate almost all of the fries.


The following day, my sister and her family joined us for the weekend too.  Nathan and Lucas are always happy to see each other.  Lucas wouldn't go to sleep at all when Cousin Nathan is around and he is always in a good mood.

While Charles and my brother-in-law John went to see the Warriors win over the Mavericks live in Oakland, my friend Cindy and her family paid us a visit and joined us for dinner.  They drove 8 hours all the way from San Diego to the Bay Area.  It was wonderful to see Cindy and her girls again!  And it was nice seeing Cindy's husband Doy and meeting his parents for the first time.

Lucas calls her "Tita Cindy Gwapa!"

They got along pretty well--these kids.  Ate Emma didn't mind playing with Lucas' toys.  Ate Ella was more quiet and she preferred to hang out with the older ones.

Lucas remembers them very well.  Until now, when he sees this photo he'd yell "Tito Doy!  Ate Ella!"

Ate Ella is one sweet girl.  Pretty soon she's going to be a lady, and a very beautiful one I'm sure!

Nathan stole the show.  He was dancing to our chants and was loving the attention!

He also kept posing for me and Cindy, and would check out our photos after we took each one of them!

Ate Emma did the same--she danced with Nathan.  She is so much fun to play with!

A group shot before they left. 

It was fun having them around.  Cindy and I had very little time to catch up and share photo tips, but I did learn a lot.  Wish we had more time.  Maybe we'll pay them a visit in San Diego this summer--we'll see.

I love having house guests over.  It brings merriment to our humble place.  So I'm thankful to my sister who comes with her family whenever they can.  I miss them when they're not around.  I'm also grateful to Walter and Cindy's family for sharing some time with us and for adding fun to our weekend.  

In the next two months, our weekends have been planned out, but I am excited for each one of them.

What's for Brunch?

I love breakfast food.  I can have breakfast food even for lunch or dinner and I'm a happy bee! To me, breakfast food is the ultimate comfort food.  Unfortunately, I can't have anything for breakfast on weekdays other than bread, bagels or oatmeal because there's just no time to prepare breakfast before work.

So on weekends, I look forward to making breakfast food for brunch.

Last week, I made omelette. This looked so colorful so I just had to take a photo.

The finished product. The photo reminds me of thin-crust pizza, which I miss by the way. Haven't had pizza in a while.

Also made some waffles and topped it with strawberries and banana.  It's perfect with some turkey bacon.

Charles wanted his waffles plain.  No syrup, no butter, no toppings.  Just plain waffle goodness.

These strawberries were super fresh and juicy!  They were just delivered from the farm that morning when Charles picked them up from the groceries.

This week, we opted for a less healthy breakfast--rice, eggs, corned beef and this sinfully delicious longanisa!  Have to feed that craving once in a while.

Of course, brunch won't be complete without some delicious, freshly brewed coffee.  Enjoy your meals this weekend, everyone! :-)

Age Is Not Just A Number

When I was a little girl and until I became a teenager, I wished I would get older fast.  I couldn't wait to go out with somebody (my parents were so strict--they didn't allow me and my sister to see anybody until after college).  I couldn't wait to have a job and earn my own money so I won't have to ask my parents for it and I can buy whatever I want.  I couldn't wait to make my own decisions, run my own household and be in any place I want to be.

I lived a happy childhood and God knows I love my family to pieces, so I wasn't looking at getting away from them.  But I think I was born independent and at some point I just yearned to be unleashed, be out and about seeking adventures and exploring the unknown.

Now, I've lived almost half my lifetime (I don't expect to live longer than 80). I am independent, happily married, earning my own money and making decisions.  Yet this past few weeks, I couldn't help but wish I was younger--much, much younger. 

I was looking for something from my archives and came across old photos from 6-8 years ago, and I couldn't believe how much I have changed and aged.  I was slim and sexy then, I had shiny black hair and a beautiful skin.  I dressed weird but back then it wasn't that weird.  I had inexpensive things but I was happy with them.  I looked so carefree and I had a smirk that said, "I am not responsible for anyone. I am just having the time of my life!"

Back then, I was also constantly looking for opportunities and pursuing them. I was driven and very competitive. I had a head full of fresh ideas and I was determined to be successful. 

I guess my youth consumed all of my energy and great physical attributes and now I'm left with very little of them.  Last night, I spent almost half an hour and another half this morning plucking gray hair, getting rid of blackheads, counting laugh lines, holes and dents in my face and trying to figure out a red blemish that just myteriously appeared out of nowhere. 

I am struggling to lose my excess weight even with diet and regular exercise, when in the past all it took to get beach ready is a week of exercise and giving up of dessert.  I got posture lessons from the husband who was trying to help me conceal my big drooping belly and not look like 4 months pregnant. 

I get annoyed quite easily and I have a hard time controlling my temper when I read emails in the morning and somebody at work says or does something stupid.  I keep forgetting stuff and missing meeting appointments even with my Outlook calendar opened right in front of me.  I know I'm not as sharp as I used to be when it comes to learning new things. I used to be really good at multi-tasking--listening to two or more people speaking to me at the same time while I do other things and I'm still able to absorb all of it.  Now, I can see the frustration in my younger staff's face when they try to explain something and it's taking me a while to pick up. I used to be a machine, now I sometimes feel like junk.

Part of it is laziness, I know. But part of it is age.  Laziness I can overcome, but not age.  Some say age is just a number--I'm not so sure I believe in that. Some people are so good at slowing it down and others don't do as well.  But bottomline is, aging happens to all of us whether we like it or not.  And when we age, we age.  There is no stopping it.

Getting old is sad and I think the only way to overcome the sadness of aging is by always having a positive attitude and doing something good about it. Like doing what makes us happy and staying away, if at all possible, from things that annoy us.  Living a healthy life. Reading more and learning new things, even when it gets harder to remember. Playing with kids and learning to be more patient with them. Smiling more and worrying less.

Then again, it's easy to outline the things we need to do. Actually doing it is the real challenge.  In my case, I just hope the universe will cooperate with me and shape my life's events such that they will allow me to stay positive and happy.  This won't change the way I look, but I think it will change the way I feel about aging.

Because right now, I am a 35-year old who feels like 60.

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Photo:  An antique lamp at the Green Valley Ranch, Nevada.  Taken August 2010.