beyond black and white

elapot's project 365 is no more

2010-08-27T17:36:00.001-06:00

i skipped a day (i forgot to take a picture), and then another day, and then another... so just as i predicted, i wouldn't be able to complete this project. time to kill it then and start anew... maybe i can start on day 1 of 2011... we'll see...

meanwhile, you can view whatever i've completed from this flickr collections page.

P365-10.07.21:"elapot's farm on 07.21.10"

2010-07-27T20:53:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.21:"elapot's farm on 07.21.10", originally uploaded by dasims.

now, who's addicted to farm story?!... 'fess up! =)

this is a snap of elapot's farm taken on 07.21.10 (the time stamp of the picture is 07.27.10 though. somehow flickr was taking the date when it was uploaded trough the ipod touch flickr app)

as of today, this farm has a lil bit more animals and trees. i'm trying to get enough coins to expand to 15x15. this farm looks promising. i have a lot of plans for it ya know?! i just hope i get enough gems to buy a family house (why oh why did i ever use those gems to buy a dachsund?! tell me!)... any other tips out there on how i can get more gems?

P365-10.07.26:"tabouli salad night"

2010-07-26T21:50:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.26:"tabouli salad night", originally uploaded by dasims.

since we didn't have anything from the fridge but a few leftovers, i rummaged through our pantry to look for something to match these leftovers. and there it was... a box of wheat tabouli.

i just cooked it as per the box instructions, placed it in the fridge for 30mins, stirred in some diced tomatoes and cucumbers, drizzled some olive oil and lemon juice, seasoned with salt (the box includes a packet of seasoning and dried herbs already), and ta-dah!... refreshing tabouli salad

P365-10.07.25:"imeldific"

2010-07-25T20:49:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.25:"imeldific", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil girl has not 1, not 2, but 4 new pairs bought from fred myer today! ... she's becoming "imeldific" with her shoe collection... a shoe-a-holic in the making? hmmm... but hey, i got these from the clearance racks (summer shoes are on sale now!). clearance prices plus 40% off! (k fine, call that excuses, or k fine, just bite me!)

P365-10.07.24:"ready...set...go!"

2010-07-24T22:47:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.24:"ready...set...go!", originally uploaded by dasims.

it's time for the brgy boise annual picnic once again!

... tons of food (as usual... and we had free half lechon! .. too bad i wasn't able to take pictures of all the food that we shared)... tons of chikahan, kwela... laughter and okrayan galore... fun fun games with great great prizes (kaya walang gustong manalo sa BINGO e, hahahaha)...

ang saya! ... til next summer!

** that's tito chris playing sack race with marcus and gino. the rest of the pictures and sack race videos are in this flickr album

P365-10.07.23:"meet and greet"

2010-07-23T21:39:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.23:"meet and greet", originally uploaded by dasims.

they're just saying hello to their new neighbor... the very shy striped gourami

P365-10.07.22:"the lil girl's nightly routine"

2010-07-22T23:57:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.22:"nightly routine", originally uploaded by dasims.

shower/ clean-up...

dede while watching nick jr shows (while mommy/daddy prepares to bed as well)...

dede some more as mommy/daddy reads bedtime stories...
toothbrush...

night time prayers...

chit-chat with mommy/daddy/herself, sing songs, or dede some more (as per request) .... and all those activities she comes up with just to get away with sleeping...

mommy and/or daddy goes deadma... (so nauuna nang makatulog)...

meme na lil girl... FINALLY!

P365-10.06.18:"no more pair"

2010-07-18T22:32:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.18:"no more pair", originally uploaded by dasims.

we lost the pair of her favorite slip ons at roaring springs... but she still insists on wearing it... =(

P365-10.07.17:"the water curtain"

2010-07-17T22:24:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.17:"the water curtain", originally uploaded by dasims.

this very haawwwttt summer saturday saw us with the daguros at roaring springs! it's actually our first tme to go to that waterpark. we thought that at this age, and for someone who loves the pool, slides and playmates so much, joel would already appreciate water parks. but nah, we're wrong. at least it is not what i expected.

when we got there, she was hesitant to go down. so we were carrying her almost during the first half of our water park escapade. to top it all, she didn't like all those strong water fountains and showers hitting her face. and i think she also got a lil bit scared of all those people (and i tell yah, the park is almost full!) shouting , laughing, etc.

after lunch she was able to warm up though. and so after enjoying a few of those adult slides and floating by the endless river, we never left the kiddie area (that's why most of our pictures were taken within that area). we only even stayed at the wave pool for a bit since the lil girl only wanted to be nowhere else but the kiddie area. at least she's still able to go down that water slide with daddy... but nah, "no more slide", she said, after that (she took in a bit of water since it's all over her face when they were going down, heehee).

it was a fun fun, albeit hot (at 98F!), exhausting wet day! we'll definitely go there again! maybe next time we'd be able to experience the fun that the other adventurous slides offer.well, just maybe =)

the rest of the pictures and videos from our roaring springs escapade is here. (ps. not everything is visible publicly so just lemme know if you wanna see all of 'em)

P365-10.07.14:"padjacks, the jersey"

2010-07-14T23:38:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.14:"padjacks, the jersey", originally uploaded by dasims.

we finally got our bike jerseys (proudly made in the philippines!) today... now that we have our jerseys, we probably should consider buying eac of us a road bike. hmmm, what do you think?

ang macho ng model ko ano? that's the husband! a-hem!

P365-10.07.13:"the tank at night"

2010-07-13T21:17:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.13:"the tank at night", originally uploaded by dasims.

night shot, underexposed, with only the tank light on...

P365-10.07.12:"the free touch"

2010-07-13T09:31:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.12:"the free touch", originally uploaded by dasims.

the husband surprised me at 10pm with this nice gadget! yef, yef, the ipod touch from keybank is finally here! woohoo! it's 8G.. and it's F-R-E-E!!!

i downloaded free apps and only hit the sack at almost 4 in the morning. there are just too many free apps! ack!

so, yes, there's an app for that! there's an app for everything! ang saya!

(note: pic timestamp says it's already the 13th at past 1 in the morning... tagal kasi matulog ni bulinggit, nauna tuloy ako and i just woke up to tinker with this gadget)

P365-10.07.11:"it's the mickey mouse clubhouse..."

2010-07-11T21:29:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.11:"it's the mickey mouse clubhouse...", originally uploaded by dasims.

when daddy helped her open the box of her new toy, she was ecstatic upon seeng what's inside... her mickey mouse clubhouse! ... "... come inside, it's fun inside.. it's the mickey mouse clubhouse"

P365-10.07.10:"devonshire garage sale year 2"

2010-07-10T20:28:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.10:"devonshire garage sale year 2", originally uploaded by dasims.

we had the yearly community garage sale this saturday. and it was freakin' haaawwwt at 96F! wooh! some of our friends joined us in selling their used (and unused) items as well.

yep, it was a fun way to raise funds, but it's actually just an excuse to have a get-together which means chikahan, bbq-han and kainan!

we had more buyers last year than this year. nevertheless, we still earned about $80+ from our items. ang saya!

P365-10.07.08:"meet the guppies"

2010-07-08T22:27:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.08:"meet the guppies", originally uploaded by dasims.

these are the lil girl's naughty and playful guppies. the fast-swimming "kulets"! kinukulit lang naman ang lahat ng kasambahay nila! LOL!

P365-10.07.07:"two by two"

2010-07-07T21:26:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.07:"two by two", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil girl's aquarium now with live plants and another pair of the same 1st two species...

it's so cute when we placed the new fishies in the tank. each one really hastily swam towards their respective kind, and probably "said hi" and sort of "chatted" with them. well, they've been probably friends since they had been living in the same tank at petco for i dunno how long :)

P365-10.07.06:"the first two"

2010-07-06T20:25:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.06:"the first two", originally uploaded by dasims.

nel and i for the longest time, wanted to have an aquarium. but the thought of its maintenance and care is always on the way so the plan never solidified until now... just because my lil girl loooves animals!

whenever she sees dogs, cats, bunnies she'd really run towards them to pet them fearlessly. so it's always a treat whenever we're at a pet shop where she'd rather have all those hamsters, guinea pigs, ferrets, birds out of their cage to play with them, if she only can.

she'd run towards tank after tank after tank to look at the colorful fishies swimming by. she'll tap on the tanks and say, "here, fishy, fishy!"

so when we found a 29-gallon tank on one of our garage sale escapades bought for just 20 bucks, we got it ready for the pet fishies of our lil girl.

while the lil girl loves feeding the fish, i'm very much satisfied with just merely looking at this tank. it's just so peaceful. it just leaves me in a state of trance that i can just stare at it for hours...

this album is where i'd keep all of our aquarium photos and videos ...

P365-10.07.03:"freshly handpicked sweet cherries"

2010-07-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.03:"freshly handpicked sweet cherries", originally uploaded by dasims.

saturday saw us at tyler's rocky point orchard do do some cherry picking and picnic with friends.

the lil girl enjoyed just being surrounded with other kids, picking some cherries (and it's just so nice that she can reach quite a number of branches with really ripe fruits) and eating them along the way (including the seeds, hay).

as soon as everyone's done with their own picking and paying for them for just $1.05/lb, we got our blankets, chairs and food out and ready for a cool picnic under the shades of the cherry trees. as usual, food's just overflowing! it's a fun and relaxing picnic, sira lang ulet ang diet =)

it's really good that the lil girl loves cherries the way we do coz we'll be having them for dessert during most of our meals until we get all of those 8 lbs of cherries wiped out!

more of our cherry picking pictures and videos here most of our pics and vids are private by the way so just lemme know if you wanna view everything, k?)

P365-10.07.02:"smiley steps"

2010-07-02T23:31:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.02:"smiley steps", originally uploaded by dasims.

wouldn't it be wonderful if you were being led by these smiley stickies towards where you're going? thank my daughter for sticking all of em everywhere in our home...

P365-10.07.01:"missed by the birds,teehee"

2010-07-01T23:29:00.000-06:00

P365-10.07.01:"missed by the birds,teehee", originally uploaded by dasims.

these are my last two cherries... they can really grow big and get really really red ripe if the bird misses to eat them.. nice! now, you stay away from them darn birds!

P365-10.06.30:"a-beamin' at your face"

2010-06-30T23:42:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.30:"a-beamin' at your face", originally uploaded by dasims.

Ain't it just so hard to drive when the sun,albeit setting,is beamin at your face like this?!

P365-10.06.29:"rays of the setting sun"

2010-06-29T23:34:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.29:"rays of the setting sun", originally uploaded by dasims.

Wouldn't you just utter a short praise and give thanks to the One who made this captivating view as soon as you see it?

P365-10.06.27:"palabok night"

2010-06-27T23:32:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.27:"palabok night", originally uploaded by dasims.

made by yours truly... ang sarap ng palabok ko!

P365-10.06.23:"just a handful of harvested cherries"

2010-06-23T22:30:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.23:"just a handful of harvested cherries", originally uploaded by dasims.

we had to harvest 'em all =( ... just because the birds were feasting on our sole cherry tree's first fruits even before they fully ripen... see? they're not even on their deep red prime yet *sigh*

P365-10.06.22:"the birds feasted on it's first fruits"

2010-06-22T22:26:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.22:"the birds feasted on it's first fruits", originally uploaded by dasims.

ugh birds! bad bad birdies!
yeah, you may all look so pretty and dainty, but you are mean lil ones! really!

P365-10.06.21:"the pink rose"

2010-06-21T21:23:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.21:"the pink rose", originally uploaded by dasims.

at least it does look like pink to me...

P365-10.06.20:"daddy day sumptuous homemade burgers!"

2010-06-20T21:21:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.20:"daddy day sumptuous homemade burgers!", originally uploaded by dasims.

we celebrated father's day starting with a waffles-and-red-hotdog brekky by yours truly... then we headed to attend mass together with the other dads in olr. soon after, we were reminded by beth that dads eat free breakfast at mcdo so we had brekky #2 there with her family that we had to skip our planned lunch out =)

in the afternoon, our master griller prepared the grill for what would have been a homemade-burger-and-fries merienda but then the weather did not cooperate that the sun only shone about a few hours enough to get all those burgers, ribs and pork steaks grilled to perfection before dinner started. but at least before it rained again, we were still able to enjoy our burgers (that ended up as dinner) in our patio. the lil girl had so much fries, tomatoes and ketchup.

we condluded daddy nel's day with him opening joel's gift (a watch he can use for running that measures distances and heart rate, nope not the gps one)

a fun fun daddy's day indeed!

more of our father's day pics here (most of them are privy so just lemme know if you want to see all of 'em

P365-10.06.17:"big slide for a big girl"

2010-06-17T21:26:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.17:"big slide for a big girl", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil girl as she bravely tackles on the bigger slide for the big kids! ... now, she's choosing this slide over the lil one. big girl na talaga!

P365-10.06.16:"tantrum much?"

2010-06-16T21:24:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.16:"tantrum much?", originally uploaded by dasims.

that's my lil girl! may pa-dapa-dapa pa, padyak-padyak at wasiwas ng braso as she bawls and renders her animated and theatrical tantrums! ahhh, tots!

P365-10.06.15:"lil girl going bare-fat-foot"

2010-06-15T21:15:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.15:"lil girl going bare-fat-foot", originally uploaded by dasims.

don't you just wanna bite those fattylicious feet?! yep, that's the lil girl walking barefoot on those stones... i dunno what kind of fun she's just recently found with walking and running barefoot in our yard. ah, kids!

P365-10.06.14:"my lil strawberries"

2010-06-14T21:08:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.14:"my lil strawberries", originally uploaded by dasims.

we actually thought these berry shrubs died last summer. but whaddyaknow?! they're now with lil red sweet fruits! nummy!

P365-10.06.13:"through starfish the salbabida's eyes"

2010-06-13T21:05:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.13:"through starfish the salbabida's eyes", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil girl finally dipped in our community pool for the first time this season. it was so much fun.. so fun for her that she cried buckets when we literally plucked her out from the pool and did not allow her to go back that same day .. her hands and feet were already pruned and it's already getting cold that night...

we'll definitely take advantage of this pool what with the homeowner's association fees ever increasing! =)

more of our pictures and videos here. most of them are private pics and vids so lemme know if you wanna see them.

P365-10.06.08:"my cherry amor"

2010-06-08T21:00:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.08:"my cherry amor", originally uploaded by dasims.

i hope these lil green ones ripen from our cherry tree this time... please lil birds let us feast on them first. you had this tree wiped out of fruits last year.. it's our turn!

P365-10.06.07:"it's a bird!"

2010-06-07T20:59:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.07:"it's a bird!", originally uploaded by dasims.

yes it is.. it seems like a baby bird resting on our pompom. it's probably learning to fly so it didn't even move an inch when we moved closer. so we just snapped away! a cute one eh?

P365-10.06.04:"driving directions from boise to tokyo,japan"

2010-06-04T20:58:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.04:"driving directions from boise to tokyo,japan", originally uploaded by dasims.

if you get the driving directions from boise, idaho, usa to tokyo, japan, who would've thought that google maps would give you the directions?!

you'd have to kayak twice through the pacific ocean though for ~7K miles.. and without stopping, you should be in tokyo at an estimated time of 34 days and 16 hours. that's if you'd come out of the pacific ocean alive, hahahaha

google peeps are so humorous, albeit nerdy!

P365-10.06.03:"sweet colorful pebbles"

2010-06-03T20:56:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.03:"sweet colorful pebbles", originally uploaded by dasims.

these are the only pebbles that i eat... yes, eat! .. these are sweet chocolate pebbles! numnummy! (they look like real small stones no?)

P365-10.06.01:"i need some urgent care"

2010-06-01T20:54:00.000-06:00

P365-10.06.01:"i need some urgent care", originally uploaded by dasims.

i thought it was only heartburn... but the sharp chest pains i'm feeling when i'm breathing deeply or yawning or sneezing is still here, 24 hours later.

if the triage nurse, upon telling her your symptoms, told you to see an ER or urgent care doctor immediately, wouldn't you worry?! i did!.. so i hurriedly went to this urgent care clinic of st. al's to get a diagnosis.

the diagnosis: costochondritis. it's just an inflammation of a rib or the cartilage connecting a rib, which usually, but not always, involves one side of the breastbone. it usually has no definite cause. but it can come from any viral or bacterial infection or physical stress. ibuprofen or NSAIDs can make it better.

as advised by the dr, i should stop doing any exercises until the pain's gone. and that includes running. so there, i'm not making excuses anymore. i have chest pains!

P365-10.05.31:"bubble bath time!"

2010-05-31T23:00:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.31:"bubble bath time!", originally uploaded by dasims.

the princess just loves bubble bath time and so is this duckie...

more of the lil girl's cute bath time pics here

P365-10.05.30:'"run ela, run!"

2010-05-30T23:59:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.30:'"run ela, run!", originally uploaded by dasims.

i've been loving running recently because there were days when the weather permitted me to not get tied to the treadmill and enjoy the neighborhood... i may not be marathon-material yet, but who knows?.. maybe someday i can run at par with the boys.. let's see!

P365-10.05.29:"serious game of volleyball?"

2010-05-29T23:58:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.29:"serious game of volleyball?", originally uploaded by dasims.

the ruayanas of ca paid the brgy boise a visit so a picnic gathering was in order...

we all trooped to the micron rec area (don't we all love our company that much eh?!) for some bbq, burgers, hotdogs, lotsa food, lotsa kwento and chismisan of course!

the kids had fun playing ball, chasing bubbles and and had the time of their lives at the playground while the "bigger" kids enjoyed playing beach volleyball (nah, there's no beach, just sand, which the lil girl showered herself with, nice no?!).

balik ulet kayo dan, agnes, trish and ethan!

more pictures and videos here

P365-10.05.28:"sprinkles on my cupcakes!"

2010-05-28T23:56:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.28:"sprinkles on my cupcakes!", originally uploaded by dasims.

ah, delightful to look at and so delish! ... even if i'd like to take the credit on baking this cuties, it's just not right (and i know you wouldn't believe me anyway).. thanks ryan for baking goodies and sharing them to us every week! "nummy!", says the lil girl!

P365-10.05.27:"at 10:37pm on 05/27/10"

2010-05-27T23:55:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.27:"at 10:37pm on 05/27/10", originally uploaded by dasims.

... i'm taking this shot... and it's a full moon and at 75.9F inside and 52.1F outside... and yes, this clock needs battery replacement :)

elapot's project 365

2010-05-27T17:01:00.000-06:00

i'm just too busy ... i'd say lazy... LOL!

simply put, you won't be seeing all of my project 365 pictures on this blog anymore because i keep on forgetting and just because it's double the effort considering that everything's in my flickr p365 collections and most (not all though) can be viewed by the public eye anyway.

however, you'll still certainly see some of my favorite shots which may or may not be the best ones, or snaps with interesting, fun, or significant stories behind.

happy viewing then!

P365-10.05.26:"glued to glee"

2010-05-26T23:54:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.26:"glued to glee", originally uploaded by dasims.

better not move that remote since i'm forwarding through and skipping commercials on my recorded glee ep, or else...

P365-10.05.25:"the next american idol?"

2010-05-25T23:52:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.25:"the next american idol?", originally uploaded by dasims.

so will he be the next?!... do you want him to be the next?... then vote for him! the number's on the screen ;)

P365-10.05.24:"via snaptu"

2010-05-24T23:51:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.24:"via snaptu", originally uploaded by dasims.

thank goodness for this phone app.. go google it to find out about it some more :)

(took this shot using the ScreenSnap app from my phone, cool diba?)

P365-10.05.23:"i baptize you..."

2010-05-23T23:50:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.23:"i baptize you...", originally uploaded by dasims.

.. in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit...

welcome to the christian catholic world baby ecco!

more of ecco's baptism pics here.

P365-10.05.22:"it's raining, it's falling..."

2010-05-22T23:45:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.22:"it's raining, it's falling...", originally uploaded by dasims.

spring time means lotsa rain, but it doesn't mean winter cold weather! .. please winter, come again next season, we're so done with you!

P365-10.05.21:"a pair of small hands"

2010-05-21T23:44:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.21:"a pair of small hands", originally uploaded by dasims.

that's my baby and her baby dah (doll)... her new buddy :)

P365-10.05.20:"who's that girl inside the bouncy house?"

2010-05-20T23:42:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.20:"who's that girl inside the bouncy house?", originally uploaded by dasims.

here's my lil girl inside one of the bouncy houses at monkey bizness. she just had the time of her life on my birthday at these bouncies... i don't know what it is with jumping, but my lil girl sure is into it =)

for the rest of my bday kwento and pictures, here's the link (pics are mostly privy so if you wanna see them all, just lemme know)

P365-10.05.19:"thank goodness for dishwashers"

2010-05-19T23:40:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.19:"thank goodness for dishwashers", originally uploaded by dasims.

whoever invented dishwashers, thank you!!! ... we actually never used it as often until when the husband and i both started working and nights are getting shorter and shorter.. what a life-saver!

P365-10.05.18:"when, oh when?"

2010-05-18T23:38:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.18:"when, oh when?", originally uploaded by dasims.

... will we win powerball's jackpot?! when, oh when?!

P365-10.05.17:"oh, man!"

2010-05-17T23:36:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.17:"oh, man!", originally uploaded by dasims.

i know, it's a fox!

this is a page from the lil girl's animal book. and boy does she just make me a proud momma whenever we lift through all of the pages and she'll identify all the animals correctly but this...

not that she doesn't know what a fox is, it's just that whenever we're at this page, she'll smack her forehead and utter "meh!" (oh, man!")... yep, ala-swiper!

o diba, swiper's a fox! ain't she the smartest!

P365-10.05.16:"diggin' some dirt!"

2010-05-16T23:35:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.16:"diggin' some dirt!", originally uploaded by dasims.

"magtanim ay di biro... masakit sa likod at tuhod, hehe"

would you believe i did a lil bit of yard work today?! i'm sure the husband-slash-gardener is happy :)

i just dug some dirt out, enough to get these new flowers planted on our flower bed. yep, for some reason, though we planted perennial plants last year, we still had to replace some of them. well, hellow summer!

P365-10.05.15:"round and round the 'hood"

2010-05-15T23:33:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.15:"round and round the 'hood", originally uploaded by dasims.

it's about time to dust our bikes off! it's really nice and warm outside at 80s today so we rode our bikes as we tug the lil girl's trailer behind. i hope we get into serious biking this time and burn those calories down!

here are some more of our pictures (i was getting some snaps as we drive along, teehee). and most of them are privy so just lemme know if you wanna see all of them

P365-10.05.14:"do i look like her?"

2010-05-14T23:10:00.001-06:00

P365-10.05.14:"do i look like her?", originally uploaded by dasims.

coz everytime we're at costco and the lil girl sees this big picture from the banner hanging above, while pointing at it, she'd shout "mommy!" with delight.

so do i? do i really look like her? i really don't see any similarity... maybe the eyes? ah, i dunno! tell me...

P365-10.05.13:"trying to be a big girl"

2010-05-13T23:10:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.13:"trying to be a big girl", originally uploaded by dasims.

here's my lil girl trying hard to do things independently... aaah, she's growing fast! if i could only put time to a halt and keep her at this fun and cute stage she's at forevah!

P365-10.05.12:"kempt and sheveled"

2010-05-12T23:09:00.000-06:00

P365-010.05.12:"kempt and sheveled", originally uploaded by dasims.

presenting... our new kempt and sheveled family room alcove!

we actually didn't have a plan for this alcove when we bought this house. for a long time our entertainment system took shelter there. with joel's grand entrance, her toys started accumulating and piling up and filling this lilttle space in disarray.

still with joel's toys, books and other stuff, the alcove's now looking spick-and-span and more organized with these white neat-looking shelves. i laaaveeet! (though it only looks immaculate at night when the lil girl's in deep slumber)

P365-10.05.11:"thank goodness for popsicle pedialytes"

2010-05-11T23:04:00.001-06:00

P365-10.05.11:"thank goodness for popsicle pedialytes", originally uploaded by dasims.

she refuses to take pedialyte. i was too scared she might get dehydrated so her pediatrician gave her not one, but three different flavors of popsicle pedialytes!

nah, she couldn't finish the whole thing, but at least she gets to take some. that's still better than nothing

hay please hija, get well soon.

P365-10.05.10:"waiting for the pedia"

2010-05-10T23:03:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.10:"waiting for the pedia", originally uploaded by dasims.

i was trying to sway the lil girl from boredom while waiting for her pedia to check on her inside this yellow construction-themed room at the boise pediatrics. since i'm too lzay to recount the whole story, just please refer to the entry before this to find out why we're here.

P365-10.05.09:"you're the best"

2010-05-09T23:05:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.09:"you're the best", originally uploaded by dasims.

it's my day (a day that i share with my mami of course). and lookie here. this is what i got from the lil one... ain't she sweet?! this is just one of the reasons why i love being a mom...

happy mother's day to all the mommas in the world!

for this year's mom's day kwento and more photos, click here. (guest pass is needed to view all pics. just lemme know if you wanna see them all)

P365:10.05.08:"blowing bubbles"

2010-05-08T23:03:00.000-06:00

P365:10.05.08:"blowing bubbles", originally uploaded by dasims.

we love bubbles! here's dora trying to blow some bubbles but couldn't coz guess whose hand is on the way?!

P365-10.05.07:"what's a carnival without a cotton candy?!"

2010-05-07T22:01:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.07:"what's a carnival without a cotton candy?!", originally uploaded by dasims.

we went to the trailwind school mexican fiesta themed carnival today and guess what we had aside from this cotton candy? hint: yes, it's mexican food

* more of our carnival pictures here. to view everything, just lemme know and i'll give you a guest pass ink

P365-10.05.06:"mochi mochi!"

2010-05-06T23:01:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.06:"mochi mochi!", originally uploaded by dasims.

do you also love this ice cream? who doesn't?! so tell me, what's your favorite flavor?

P365-10.05.05:"zee is registered"

2010-05-05T23:59:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.05:"zee is registered", originally uploaded by dasims.

the husband's car is finally licensed and registered... it's vroom vroom vroom time! wanna joy ride?

P365-10.05.04:"ihaw ihaw time!"

2010-05-04T21:03:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.04:"ihaw ihaw time!", originally uploaded by dasims.

we just couldn't wait til the weather gets perfect for barbecuing. it's been a really long wait y'know since mr. weather's just taking his time on winter.

we had our liempo marinated and ready since the weekend and we were craving for it ever since.. so yes, it's ihaw ihaw time!!!

P365-10.05.03:"a second one"

2010-05-03T22:02:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.03:"a second one", originally uploaded by dasims.

now that we have two babies to bring joel to and from homecare too, we need to get a new carseat. bought at a 20% discount from babies r' us, this smaller and lighter, and really cheap evenflo carseat will hopefully serve us well.

P365-10.05.02:"worn out"

2010-05-02T22:02:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.02:"worn out", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil girl's toothbrush, that is. and it's only been a few weeks that she's using this. do you replace your tots' toothbrushes every now and then too? how often?

P365-10.05.01:"a new baby"

2010-05-01T21:02:00.000-06:00

P365-10.05.01:"a new baby", originally uploaded by dasims.

we started the month of may by going to peterson and bringing a new baby home (yep, just like that... as if it was just a candy being bought from a sari-sari store).

since the husband and i are working in the same company now, and same site, we thought it's ok to just share lyka and go and leave together at the same time. but the 1st week proved that it's hard.. not impossible, but really stressful.

the plan this morning was to just canvass and test drive some cars. but with toyota's recalls and all, the '10 models' discount (with the '11 models already coming in), and the 0% APR (so imagine paying for 5 years with NO interest at all), who would resist snagging one specially if the "one" is already there, just waiting for you!

P365-10.04.30:"wilted beauty"

2010-04-30T23:04:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.30:"wilted beauty", originally uploaded by dasims.

though it's unfortunate that they wilt faster than the rest, tulips are still one of my favorites

P365-10.04.29:"seedlings"

2010-04-29T23:03:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.29:"seedlings", originally uploaded by dasims.

these are the husband's seedlings. he planted squash, green beans, bell peppers (and i can't remember what else) from seeds this year. he couldn't wait to transfer them out to our veggie bin at the back. but with mr. weather confusing spring with winter, i don't know when that would be. brrrr!

P365-10.04.28:"struttin' mommy's boots"

2010-04-28T23:02:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.28:"struttin' mommy's boots", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil girl looooveees shoes! my shoes included... i wonder where she inherited that from? nuninuninu

P365-10.04.27:"i'm torn"

2010-04-27T23:01:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.27:"i'm torn", originally uploaded by dasims.

the book, that is. it was a free book from a box of cereals that didn't last very long because of a lil cute book monster lurking in our home

P365-10.04.26:"a dozen anyone?"

2010-04-26T23:00:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.26:"a dozen anyone?", originally uploaded by dasims.

freshly picked from our yard, here's a dozen of mixed tulips soaking pretty in our vase

P365-10.04.25:"the lil girl and the fat bunny"

2010-04-25T22:48:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.25:"the lil girl and the fat bunny", originally uploaded by dasims.

no, the bunny isn't our pet. its our neighbor's. it somehow managed to dig a hole under our fence, just enough for him to get in and out of our yard. mr. fat bunny has been our constant visitor for a few days now and he just made himself welcome grazing through the husband's plants. the lil girl loves him though so whenever she's by the glass door, she looks for "bu-nny" and will insist to go out and pet mr. bunny.

P365-10.04.24:"jap chocolates, mmm!"

2010-04-24T22:47:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.24:"jap chocolates, mmm!", originally uploaded by dasims.

i'm really not a chocolate afficionado, but i fell in love with this one. when my husband used to travel business to and from japan, he'd always bring me galbo chocolates for pasalubong! it tastes just so delightful!... so when i saw this at uwajimaya in seattle, i just had to get myself some to indulge on.

P365-10.04.23:"the box settler"

2010-04-23T22:46:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.23:"the box settler", originally uploaded by dasims.

one fine day when we were costco shopping, the lil girl, as always, insisted on "bababa" from the cart. we gave in after lots of pangungulit. she immediately ran towards this aisle, saw this box, pushed it in the middle, hopped right in, sat down and happily settled there for a while... hay si bulinggit!

P365-10.04.22:"a sparks fan?"

2010-04-22T22:46:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.22:"a sparks fan?", originally uploaded by dasims.

i loved both sparks' the wedding and the notebook. does that make me a sparks fan? i guess we'll find out once i started lifting pages from at least one of these books that my friend, beth, lent me. what should i start with? any reco?

P365-10.04.21:"one for me, one for the lil girl"

2010-04-21T22:45:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.21:"one for me, one for the lil girl", originally uploaded by dasims.

i've started preparing two lunch boxes tonight, one for me and one for the lil girl. the lil princess will have a trial run at her homecare tomorrow so her snacks, lunch, milk and juice will be in that taller bag... wish us luck!

P365-10.04.20:"tsaa-shionista ka ba?"

2010-04-20T22:44:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.20:"tsaa-shionista ka ba?", originally uploaded by dasims.

a cup of hot steaming tea during the middle and end of a stressful day at work just works wonders! c'mon and have a cup with me ;)

P365-10.04.19:"going home...bye bye washinghton"

2010-04-19T22:44:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.19:"going home...bye bye washinghton", originally uploaded by dasims.

this is the part of vacays that i least like.. travelling back... it was rush hour and the traffic was a bit bad! thank God for car pool lanes!

P365-10.04.18:"arachnophobic?"

2010-04-18T22:57:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.18:"arachnophobic?", originally uploaded by dasims.

i am a full-fledged arachnophobic! so when i learned that there is no glass whatsoever covering this scary little creature unlike the other bugs in this section of the zoo, i immediately ran towards the exit pushing joel's stroller as fast as i could! needless to say, it was the husband who snapped at this 8-legged freak... it still gives me the creeps just looking at this picture! uuugghh!

*more of our woodland zoo pics here. again, just lemme know if you want to see everything and i'll give you the guest pass link

P365-10.04.17:"under the aurora bridge lives a troll"

2010-04-17T23:57:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.17:"under the aurora bridge lives a troll", originally uploaded by dasims.

The Fremont troll has been lurking under the north end of the Aurora bridge of seattle since 1990. He was sculpted by four Seattle area artists -- Steve Badanes, Will Martin, Donna Walter and Ross Whitehead -- for the Fremont Arts Council. The head-and-shoulders sculpture is 18-ft. tall.Read more

this pic was taken during our amphibian, ride-the-ducks, tour of seattle... yep, it was raining. more of our tour pics here. lemme know if you want to view everything and i'll give you a guest pass

P365-10.04.16:"jump or you'll drown in the sea of tulips"

2010-04-16T23:56:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.16:"jump or you'll drown in the sea of tulips", originally uploaded by dasims.

don't you wish your yard is filled with these vibrant colorful tulips that are almost as tall as your 2-year old?! aaahhhh, you can just leave me here and i won't stop admiring these gorgeous blooms! i really wish that tulips bloom longer than any other flower...

*pic taken at roozengarde (mt.vernon, wa.) ... the rest of our tulips festival pics are here .. (if you need a guest pass to view everything, just lemme know)

P365-10.04.15:"nemo and his brother"

2010-04-15T22:56:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.15:"nemo and his brother", originally uploaded by dasims.

i love aquariums! have you been to the monterey bay aquarium in california?! that's just the best i've seen so far and one of my favorite places to visit. this pic is taken from the seattle aquarium though. they've also got sooo many colorful sea creatures and all are beautiful! i have some more pictures here. lemme know if you want to view everything and i can give you the guest pass link.

P365-10.04.14:"mispelled word"

2010-04-14T22:55:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.14:"mispelled word", originally uploaded by dasims.

did you find the mispelled word? heehee

i don't care! i'm just excited for this vacay! so let's sing ala-moose a. moose...

we're going on a trip, we're going on a trip
it's thrilling to be filling with such wide anticipation
packing the suitcases, and counting all the dayses...
nearly as exciting as the actual vacation
are we there yet, are we there yet?
the excitement's getting stronger
are we there yet, are we there yet?
i really can't wait much longer...

** here's the song from youtube :)

P365-10.04.13:"a long tail"

2010-04-13T19:55:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.13:"a long tail", originally uploaded by dasims.

this orchard exit had been in construction for as long as i can remember. and during rush hours like this, it can easily create this long of a tail of vehicles

P365-10.04.12:"please do not disturb"

2010-04-12T19:49:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.12:"please do not disturb", originally uploaded by dasims.

the lil one: "i'm working... please do not disturb"

P365-10.04.11:"a touch of zen"

2010-04-11T19:48:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.11:"a touch of zen", originally uploaded by dasims.

the husband decided to install the new yard lighs today to give our backyard a little touch of zen (which, by the way is supposed to be the theme of our yard... i still can't see and feel it though... so mr. "gardener" , you still have a lot to accomplish honey)

P365-10.04.10:"women and wine"

2010-04-10T23:58:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.10:"women and wine", originally uploaded by dasims.

women and wine and rhonna's bday celebration at the besingas, with the boise ladies. we all had a great night with all the chikahan, the food and the booze!

mauulit ito!

** pic is our "bartender", leng's, concocted white sangria. so delish! more pics here

P365-10.04.09:"celebration food"

2010-04-09T21:46:00.001-06:00

P365-10.04.09:"celebration food", originally uploaded by dasims.

today, we received a really great news! so, celebrate good times, c'mon!

and what's a celebration without pancit canton?! (this one we just ordered from manila bay). after all, it's been a tradition for most filipinos to have pancit during any celebrations right?

P365-10.04.08"snow-capped mountain"

2010-04-08T19:46:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.08"snow-capped mountain", originally uploaded by dasims.

it's spring time, but still snowing. thus, leaving a breath-taking view of the range in the morning... thank You for a wonderful creation!

** pic taken from hollilyn on my way to work... i really stopped for a few mins to enjoy the view

P365-10.04.07:"packing up!"

2010-04-07T23:45:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.07:"packing up!", originally uploaded by dasims.

are we going or not? ...

snow storm go away, come again another day...

P365-10.04.06:"buy me, i'm a cheap"

2010-04-06T22:28:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.07:"buy me, i'm a cheap", originally uploaded by dasims.

that's is cheap for a sheep, teehee

* pic taken from target's easter clearance aisle... everything's at 50% off... i wonder when they'd go down further to 75%, nuninuninu

P365-10.04.05:"joel's colorful eggs"

2010-04-05T22:27:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.05:"joel's colorful eggs", originally uploaded by dasims.

of every color, every shape, every design... some are big, some are small, some are shiny... but what's the best of all.... the treats inside!

P365-10.04.04:"the lil 'checkered' riding hood went easter egg hunting"

2010-04-04T23:24:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.04:"the lil 'checkered' riding hood went easter egg hunting", originally uploaded by dasims.

Christ is risen, Alleluia!

... and that, my friends, is the real essence of easter, despite all the commercialism surrounding this important Christian feast.

** the lil girl enjoyed easter egg hunting though and it was her first time (and not only did she do it once, but 3x today!). here are our easter pics. Happy Easter everyone!

P365-10.04.03:"homemade sushi night!"

2010-04-03T21:23:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.03:"homemade sushi night!", originally uploaded by dasims.

it's black saturday and also the husband's birthday. his birthday normally falls on a holy week so he's not used to celebrating it... but tonight, i declared to be sushi night... he's the one who made them though...

happy birthday to my beloved and very talented chef!

** more sushi bday pics here

P365-10.04.02:"at the foot of the cross"

2010-04-02T23:22:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.02:"at the foot of the cross", originally uploaded by dasims.

on good friday, remember that Christ died for us....

let's contemplate on John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life"

P365-10.04.01:"5 minutes of verses a day"

2010-04-01T23:20:00.000-06:00

P365-10.04.01:"5 minutes of verses a day", originally uploaded by dasims.

a maundy thursday...

if you can read a whole novel without stopping and not being able to put the book down for hours, you can also do that with the Holy Scripture... you know what though? even just 5 minutes of bible reading could bring you to great lenghts in your relationship with God...

P365-031:"a powerful weapon"

2010-03-31T23:08:00.000-06:00

P365-031:"a powerful weapon", originally uploaded by dasims.

the rosary on a holy wednesday...

** copied from St. Josemaria's Friends of God (Mother of God and our Mother), point 290 **

Look: in the eyes of our Mother Mary we never cease to be little, because she opens to us the way to the Kingdom of Heaven, which will only be given to those who become little children. We should never separate ourselves from Our Lady. How should we honour her? By keeping close to her, talking to her, showing her that we love her, pondering in our hearts the scenes of her life on earth and telling her about our struggles, successes and failures.

When we do this we discover the meaning of the Marian prayers, which the Church has always used, as if we were saying them for the very first time. What are the Hail Mary and the Angelus if not loving praises of her divine Motherhood? And when we say the Holy Rosary, which is a wonderful devotion which I will never tire of recommending to Christians everywhere, our minds and hearts go over the mysteries of Mary's admirable life which are, at the same time, the fundamental mysteries of our faith.