LP # 2: Pag-aaral

Ako ay labis na nasisiyahan na makita ang aking anak na babae na nagugustuhan nya ang eskwelahan. Wala akong pagsisisi na ipinadala ko agad sya sa eskwelahan sa murang edad, sya ay tatlo't limang buwan na taong gulang pa lamang. Ang aking munting intensyon ay upang matutunan nya kung paano makipaghalubilo. Ang pag-aaral kung paano magbasa at magsulat ay dadating din. Si Sam ay ang nagiisang bata sa aming tahanan at wala syang ibang kalaro na pwedeng makipaglaro. Sa eskwelahan, makakgawa sya ng mga bagong kaibigan at matututunang makipaghalubilo sa ibang bata na kapareho ng kanyang edad. Noong una, akala ko na puros paglalaro lang dahil ang edad ng mga "nursery" ay nahuhulog sa eded na pagitan sa tatlo hanggang apat na taon. Hindi ko naisip na ang pag-aaral kung paano magbasa at magsulat ay kaagad na parte na ng kanilang kurikulum. Sya ay may limang aklat, mayroong arawang gawaing aklat at dagdag na gawaing pambahay. Hala!...ang mga bata sa henerasyong ito ay nagiging masyado ng nauuna. Isa pa sa nakakpagpasaya sa akin ay ang makita na sya ay may nagagawang maganda sa kanyang klase. Palagi syang merong mga tatak ng "Very Good" at "Behave" sa kanyang mga kamay tuwing matatapos ang kanyang klase. :)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I am very happy to see that my daughter is really enjoying the school. I don't have any regrets that I send her at an early age, she's only 3.5 years old. My only intention was to improve more her socialization skills. Learning how to read and write will surely come at a latter part. Sam is the only kid in the house and doesn't have any playmates to play with. In school, she can make new friends and will learn how to interact with other kids of her age. At first, I thought that it's only more on the playing part since the age bracket of nursery falls between 3-4 y/o. I didn't realized that learning how to read and write is already part of their curriculum. She has 5 books, having their daily workbook activities plus homeworks. Oh my...the kids in this generation is getting more advance. What makes me more happier is to see that she's doing very well in her class. She always have these Very Good Star and Behave stamp on each of her hands every after class. :)

Sam Rocks with Hannah Montana

We were able to watch the "The Hannah Montana /Miley Cyrus Best of Both Worlds 3D Concert" @ disney channel last June 21. Sam starting to like Hannah after she watched her concert. She really likes the songs and even imitates her move while watching it. A few weeks later while strolling at The Block of Trinoma mall, there's an event about Hannah Montana. They're promoting the said concert and selling different Hannah Montana merchandise as well. I think there was also this application/audition booth for the Hannah Montana singing contest? I'm not sure because I wasn't that interested at all. All I can remember was that the contest is open for little girls ages 6 & up I think. The people from the said event was giving some 3D eyeglasses for the by passers inside the mall. We've got 3 pairs. They remind us to watch for the said Hannah Montana 3d concert on June 21 @ Disney Channel. And we did! i think It is much better to watch it in a big screen tv, mas realslisric for sure and 3d effect. :p

Help Needed for Kalibo Aklan Typhoon Victims

My good friend Joanne of Kidsahoy is extending her mission to help the victims her hometown in Kalibo Aklan. She gave me the permission to re-post this blog to spread the word of helping our fellow countrymen.

TASK FORCE NOAH

for the victims of Typhoon Frank

Typhoon FRANK (International Codename: Fengsen) caused vast damages to lives, properties and livelihood of our follow countrymen over the weekend. As of the latest report, the number of casualties has been increasing. Damages were greatly felt in some regions where the actual path of the typhoon crossed. Almost all of the province of Iloilo is submerged in water. People are still stranded on top of the roofs of their houses for two days now in some towns of Iloilo. Other areas of the Visayas are also calling for aid.

General Information: As of 23 June 2008:

- 10,000 families (40,000 individuals) affected of 20 provinces, 10,000 families are in 275 evacuation centers and increasing.

- Under State of Calamity: Provinces of Iloilo, Capiz, Masbate. Cities of Iloilo, Roxas, Zamboanga (selected areas). Municipalities in Bulacan-Paombong and Marilao

- NDCC: Floods, storm surge and landslides mostly in the Visayas and Southern Tagalog have affected 366,444 people. Of the total number of affected people, 182,686 were in the Western Visayas, including 155,005 in Antique province alone.

- Stranded 5,095 passengers, 288 rolling cargo, 90 trucks, 59 passenger buses, 48 small vehicles, and eight sea vessels.

Our contacts in the Philippine Air Force are willing to fly even round-the-clock relief operations for Typhoon Frank's victims but unfortunately they tell us there are no relief goods to airlift. We are appealing for donations like ready-to-eat goods, water, clothing and/or cash/check for the victims of Typhoon Frank. Primary target of this initiatives are the heavily affected communities and areas not normally reached by relief operations. We intend to send the relief donations immediately for the urgent need of the victims.

*DONATION MECHANISM* :

PLEASE SPECIFY "GOODS FOR AKLAN" c/o Edsel Ramirez

=========================

GOODS

You may directly donate your goods: ready-to-eat goods, clothing, water at Room 102 Cervini Residence Hall, Ateneo de Manila University, Loyola Heights, Quezon City.

Contact Person : Mr. Tim Gabuna
Trunkline : 426-6001 local 5932
Direct line : 426-6119
Mobile number : 0920-9609802

CASH/CHECK

Direct deposits may be made to:
PLEASE SPECIFY "CASH DONATION INTENT: FOR AKLAN" (coordinated by Edsel Ramirez)

SIMBAHANG LINGKOD NG BAYAN (Account Name/Payee)
Bank of the Philippine Islands (Loyola-Katipunan Branch)
Peso Checking Account Number : 3081-1111-61
Dollar Savings Account Number : 3084-0420-12

Or channel to:
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan
Loyola House of Studies
Ateneo de Manila University
Loyola Heights 1108, Quezon City

Contact Information:
Landline : 426-6101 loc. 3440/3441
Telefax : 426-5968
Mobile : 0922-8600-752 (SUN-8600-SLB)
Web : www.slb.ph
Look for : Ms. Marj Tejada

For proper acknowledgement:

- Please fax a copy of the validated deposit slip to SLB through telefax 426-5986
- Kindly indicate contact information: Name, address, email, landline/mobile
- Those who wish to be anonymous may skip this procedure

FOR GCASH TRANSACTION:

1. Any Globe or TM subscribers should be registered first in Gcash before doing any Gcash transaction.
2. To register, just text the syntax

REG_4 digit M-PIN/mother's maiden name/first name/last name/address and send to 2882
Ex: REG 1234/Getino/Liwanag/Ferdinand/766 Metrica St. Sampaloc Manila and send to 2882

3. When the subs already done with cash in, he may now able to do donate or any Gcash transaction he wanted

To Donate: Just text the syntax
DONATE_AMOUNT_4 digit M-PIN_INSTITUTION CODE and send to 2882
Ex. DONATE 100 1234 SLB and send to 2882

BRO. ISMAEL JOSE CHAN-GONZAGA, S.J.
Executive Director
Simbahang Lingkod ng Bayan

MR. ADEL BRIONES
Associate Director, CCS
Ateneo School of Government
Convenor, ADMU DREAM TEAM

Time to Scrap again...

Got another beautiful template from the SSD team. I made use of Sam's photos with her new toy and came up with this.

you can get the free template here

Credits:
original layout by Tracey Howard
tmplate by Cindy Schneider
digital kit by Mandy Mistques Designs
alpha set by moi

Like Mother, Like Daughter...

Original layout by Aggie Avaso. A very creative pinay digiscrapper I just found recently over the net. Great work mommy Aggie! Keep up the good work! you're such an inspiration to every pinay digiscrap enthusiasts. :p

Credits:
original layout by Aggie Avaso
digital kits by Tammy Cirilli

Photography 101 : Know more about Exposure

Now, let's talk about Exposure...

EXPOSURE
When you combine the ISO setting, the aperture (or f/stop) setting and the correct shutter speed, you are putting together the pieces of the camera puzzle that create your exposure.

The Exposure is the image created by the light entering the camera and being recorded onto the film or digital sensor. To achieve correct exposure, you need to balance your ISO setting for the lighting situation you are in with the f/stop setting and shutter speed to allow for the correct amount of light to enter the camera.

Exposure is a tricky thing and whole books have been written on getting it correct and then intentionally messing it up for artistic purposes. Most modern cameras now come with some pretty nifty built in “cheats” to give you correct exposures. Most point and shoot cameras handle exposure automatically for you and do a very nice job. Bridge and SLR cameras will also do the heavy lifting for you by shooting in fully automatic modes. They also contain with what are referred to as “Creative Modes” that will adjust your aperture and shutter speeds for certain situations such as sporting events, portraits, landscapes, or night shooting.

Once you have moved beyond the fully automatic and creative mode shooting, bridge and SLR cameras also have a few more tricks to help you achieve your correct exposure (in combination, of course, with the ISO, f/stop, and shutter speed):

The first of these is the built in light meter. Metering is the process of gauging the light and dark areas of your image and correctly aligning the ISO, f/stop, and shutter speed to give you correct exposure. All bridge and SLR cameras give you the ability to change all three settings independently, but thankfully these cameras will also do all the metering math for you with their built in light meters.

Along with the light meter in your viewfinder, you’ll most likely also have several auto-focus points. On most bridge and SLR cameras, you will be able to see your auto-focus points when looking through your viewfinder and focusing on your object or image. These auto-focus points light up to indicate what the lens is focusing on. You can also manually adjust the focus points to accomplish a specific focus (if your subject is not in the middle of the viewfinder, for instance.)

Finally, another factor in exposure is White Balance. Digital cameras will also allow you to set or alter your white balance. Most film cameras handle white balance in the film itself and you purchase your film to match the lighting situation you will be in, whereas most digital cameras will allow you to set or alter your white balance. On a digital camera, you can set your white balance for each image just as you can set the ISO for each image.

White balance is simply a fancy way of setting the color temperature of your image. The human eye is very adept at compensating for color changes in light and allowing us to view light in a very large spectrum. Camera sensors are not quite as intelligent, and they must be told what color the light is for a given situation in order to compensate for that color. For example, morning sunlight is very blue in color while evening sunlight is very yellow. Incandescent bulbs are very orange while fluorescent bulbs are very purple. Each of these settings will affect the color temperature of your photo. To compensate for this, all digital cameras come with some pre-set white balance settings such as Auto, Daylight, and Tungsten, among others. Properly setting your white balance for your lighting situation will greatly increase the impact of your photos and decrease the amount of time you spend editing them.

Obviously, we are just skimming the surface when talking about Exposure. We will address it again in future articles and play around with it in the form of challenges.

For further reading on this topic, we recommend the following book:
Understanding Exposure (revised edition) by Bryan Peterson

Photography 101: Know more about ISO, Aperture & Shutter Speed

I'm absolutely fascinated about photography and really trying to learn and deepen more my knowledge about this digital hobby. Thanks to my very loving husbad...hehe, for providing me my dream slr cam last summer. The camera made me more passionate about photography. Since I have no time to attend to a photography school, aside from the fact that it's also very expensive, I just do self-study by searching some sites that provides free tutorials and helpful tip and tricks. Let me share some of the articles that i've found over the net that will surely benefit and educate those photographic enthusiasts like me.

The best way to think of photography is to think of light. That’s really what photography is -- capturing the light of the moment on film (or recording it onto a digital camera’s sensor). Virtually everything involved with a camera revolves around manipulating the available light to produce a photograph, and there are three main terms that interconnect with this manipulation: ISO, Aperture, and Shutter Speed.

ISO, APERTURE, AND SHUTTER SPEED

When you pick up your camera to take a photo, the first thing you need to consider is how much available light you have and the speed of your ISO setting. ISO stands for International Organization of Standards, but you really don’t need to remember that. What you do need to know is that ISO is the setting on your camera that tells your camera how quickly your film or digital image sensor will capture the light that it’s exposed to. The lower your ISO setting (100 speed, for example), the slower the exposure of light onto the film or image sensor will be. The faster the ISO (1000 speed, for example) the faster the exposure of light onto the film or sensor will be.

In other words, for lower ISO settings, you will need more light to correctly expose each image. Because a low ISO uses more light, the resulting image of a stationary object will be very sharp and clear. The higher the ISO setting, the less available light you will need, but keep in mind that the resulting image will be have more grain (or in the case of digital cameras, more digital noise).

Most modern film cameras will automatically set the ISO for you when you put in a roll of film. The benefit of digital SLR cameras, as well as some point and shoot or bridge cameras, is that you can adjust your ISO setting for each shot you take. As a general rule, for bright outdoor shots, choose 200 or 400 speed. When you move to a setting with less light, such as when you go indoors, you can quickly increase your ISO to 800, 1000, or higher to keep on taking photos.

Once you’ve gotten the idea behind ISO, then we need to move on to Aperture. The aperture is the opening in your lens right in front of where it connects to your camera that either opens to allow light to pour through the lens or closes to constrict the flow of light. The aperture acts like the iris of your eye in that it can control the volume of light provided to give you an accurate image.

Most point and shoot cameras have a fixed aperture (meaning you can’t change it), but virtually all bridge and digital SLR cameras have adjustable apertures. Apertures are referred to by their f/stop (a technical number obtained by taking the focal length of the lens and dividing it by the aperture of the lens). For example, you’ll see numbers like f/1.8 or f/5.6 used to describe a lens. In addition to indicating the aperture, f/stops represent the lens speed and indicate how quickly light will enter the lens and focus onto the film or digital sensor.

Here’s the important part -- the lower the f/ number the faster the lens will capture light onto the film or sensor. For example, if a lens is listed with an f/stop of f/2.8, then that is as wide as the aperture on the lens will open, as well as being the lowest f/stop allowed by that lens. At the lens’s lowest f/stop, nothing will stop the light from entering the lens and being captured by the camera. Light will flow through the lens like water that’s been unleashed from a dam. This is very nice in low light situations since low f/stops allow you to take pictures that you normally wouldn’t think possible, but there is a drawback. Because nothing is slowing the light from entering the camera, your lens will only focus on a small portion of the image and leave a large portion of the image blurred. This can be very nice or very frustrating.

With larger f/stops like f/22, the aperture on the lens closes down to the size of a pinhole and the light very slowly enters the camera. Because the light flow is restricted, the film or image sensor has much more time to capture that light and you will get images where almost everything in the image is in focus.

By the way, if you’ve heard the term “depth of field,” this is what it is referring to – the portion of your image that is in focus. A large depth of field would have more in focus and would use a larger f/stop. A shallow depth of field would have less in focus and use a smaller f/stop.

After you’ve set your ISO and considered your lens aperture, it’s time to move on to Shutter Speed. Now you’re probably beginning to figure out that if your lens aperture is at f/22 and light is slowly trickling into your camera, then anything moving would be a blur. The same could be said for instances when you have your ISO set at 100 and you’re trying to capture someone in motion. This is where your shutter speed comes into play with your f/stop and ISO settings.

Your shutter speed is how quickly the shutter, or the little door that opens in front of your film or image sensor, operates. It can range from several minutes to 1/1600 of a second or more. When you set your shutter speed on your camera, you’ll see numbers like 60, 120, 250 and so on. These actually represent 1/60th of a second, 1/120th of a second and so on. Generally speaking, if you are holding your camera and it is not mounted on a tripod, you should keep your shutter speed at 1/60th of a second or faster. To capture quickly moving objects your shutter speed should be around 1/1600th or faster.

When you combine the ISO setting, the aperture (or f/stop) setting and the correct shutter speed, you are putting together the pieces of the camera puzzle that create your exposure.

For further reading we recommend the following book:
Designing with Photos by Allison Tyler Jones, published by Autumn Leaves

You can also find out more online about your specific camera at these camera resource centers:
Canon Digital Learning Center
Nikon Digital Learning Center

Scrapping mode again...

Oh ...another layout for today! :)

you can get the free template here

Credits:
template by Aggie Aviso of SSD
design layout by Lynnette Penacho
digital kits (flower power) by GG Digital Designs
alpha crazy by DigiScrap.ch

Canon Photography in the Parks Photo Contest

For my US based friends out there, join the Canon Photography in the Parks Photo Contest. Share a piece of the world's natural beauty by submitting your favorite inspirational park photo and you could win an exciting trip for two to a National or State Park, renowned Canon camera gear, and the opportunity to have your photo featured in the future Canon advertising endeavors like previous contest winners shown here. Remember - photos taken of landscape, wildlife or National Monuments are eligible!

Note: Contest is only open to any legal US resident over 13 years of age. So i guess, I can't join...waaah!! :(

Visit the Canon Digital Learning Center to know more about the contest.

In the mood to Scrap

you can get the free template here

Credits:
layout design - Spring Beauty layout by Kaye Miller of SSD
template - Aggie Aviso of SSD Cookie Decorating Challanges

alpha set by moi

Typhoon Frank Lashes Metro Manila

I suddenly woke up yesterday dawn beacause of this loud and hurling sound of the trees due to strong wind. Typhoon Frank is already hitting metro manila! There's no rain yet at around 4:00am but the wind was really scary as if somebody's roof might be blow up again. Sam was still fast asleep at that time and didn't bothered by the noise caused by these strong wind. Power was still ok at that time but already cut-off at around 8:ooam. Heavy rain were already pouring before the sun slightly shines. Since there's no power available, there's no other way to know what's happening around. Typhoon Frank wrought heavy rains and strong winds surely caused heavy floods and still undetermined total damages in some part of the metro. But earlier news already claims some lives in the different provinces in the Philippines.

Since the power was cut-off and Sam was still sleeping, and there's nothing else to do yet, I just took the chance to get some photo ops. Above was a shot of the pouring rain from our backyard. I took a couple of shots to get a better picture. This was one of the best shot I've got. :p

Generate Your Own "Word Clouds!"

Want to generate your own words of clouds? Try Wordle!

these are words from my blogspot and multiply tags

Wordle is a toy for generating “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. The images you create with Wordle are yours to use however you like. You can print them out, or save them to the Wordle gallery to share with your friends.

Create your own. Have fun! :p

Sam is so fascinated with "Yo Gabba Gabba!"

Sam has a new favorite tv show nowadays @ Nick Jr. It's the Yo Gabba Gabba show, a new children’s show that looks like it was created in some sort of time warp to both the future and the 1970’s at the same time. She's very fascinated with the chracters, maybe because of their very colorful costumes. She dances and sing especially if the "Party In My Tummy" song is being shown, she really loves the beat! :p Too bad, because she'll be missing to watch it already because her school just started. It is being aired daily @ 10:00am on Nick Jr, Sam's class schedule as well. I'll just try to get her a dvd collection of this new show so she can watch it after school. :p

Yo Gabba Gabba! is a fun live-action program for young children ages 1 and up. Join our host DJ Lance Rock as he introduces us to friendly toy monsters in a magical land full of music, dance, colorful cartoons, and simple life lessons that will get you and your children up off the floor to learn and dance along. Just say the magic words! YO GABBA GABBA!!

Meet the Cast!

DJ Lance Rock. He's our host, and in each episode he gets the show started with the magic words, "Yo Gabba Gabba!"

Muno, the red cyclops. He's very friendly, mild-mannered, but sometimes slightly impatient. He loves to learn and is very outgoing. Sometimes he can be a bit clumsy and has been known to break things.

Foofa, the pink flower bubble. She's giggly, outgoing, happy, bubbly, and likes things that are cute and cuddly. But sometimes she gets a little moody if things don't go her way.

Brobee, the green little one. He's cuddly and cute, but also cautious and needs constant reassurance. He's sometimes scared to try new things. Music, singing, and dancing help give him confidence and help him to learn.

Toodee, the blue cat-dragon. She's very smart and independent. She's also athletic and mischievous. Sometimes she gets too excited about things and can be selfish.

Plex, the yellow robot. He's always there to provide music, teach lessons, and use his wonderful magical powers to beam guests into Yo Gabba Gabba Land. Like a parent, he typically knows how to solve problems.

They're all ready to sing, play, and teach whenever you are. Just say the magic words! "YO GABBA GABBA!"

Earn Extra Money @ ClixSense

What is ClixSense?
ClixSense is a unique opportunity for you to earn extra money for FREE! You get paid to view other members advertisments. You get paid for each full ad you view.

Free to join!Register a free account, Log-In, click browse ads. Get paid for each ad you view.

Receive a monthly paycheck for your activity.

Advertisers:
Reach real page visitors!

• We guarantee quality traffic to your website. Reach unique guaranteed targeted visitors for as little as 1 cent per visitor.

Free Affiliate Program:
Refer others and earn even more!

• ClixSense.com will pay you 10 cents for every free registration you refer. Furthermore we will pay you five levels deep for each referral who upgrades to a “Premium” account. Want more? When your referral places an ad on clixsense.com we’ll pay you 10% of the revenues earned from that ad. Learn More

LP # 1 : Itay

Ito ay kuha ng aking asawa at ng aming pinakamamahal na anak na babae. Kuha ito noong mga panahaon na narito ang aking asawa para sa kanyang taunang bakasyon mula sa kanyang pag-hahanapbuhay sa labas ng bansa. Ito ay yung pagkakataong natutulog silang mag-ama. Kinuha ko agad ang aking kamera at ang pagkakataon na kunan itong pinakmamahal na sandali.

---------------------------------------------

This is a shot of my hubby and our precious daughter. This was taken during the time that my hubby was here having his annual vacation from his job overseas. This was the time that they are both sleeping. Grabbed my camera and took the chances to capture this precious moment.

Canon launches its Ambassador Program

Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc. (CMP), the leader in total digital imaging solutions, extends a special promotional activity for photography clubs and organizations, dubbed the Canon Ambassador Program. The program provides a way for photography club members to help raise funds for their respective organizations by getting cash rebates whenever they purchase Canon products.

“Canon continues to find ways to support the local photography community, and the Canon Ambassador Program is just one of them. This will help boost the photo clubs’ fund raising efforts for their various activities and projects, and at the same time, encourages local photographers to continue supporting locally distributed products,” says Ramon Arteficio, CMP President and CEO.

An organization or club will receive PhP5,000 as rebate for every PhP250,000 accumulated purchase of participating Canon professional products, which include EOS digital SLR cameras and accessories, video cameras, PIXMA bubble jet printers, laser printers and multimedia projectors. To receive the rebate, the group must register and submit their organization profile, business permit, SEC/BIR registration and signed memorandum of agreement (MoA).

In addition to the rebates, Canon will be giving an additional prize of P100,000 in cash for the photo club who credits the highest amount of rebates.

“We launched this in 2007 and acceptance and support for the community was overwhelming. We decided to extend our Ambassador Program until June 2008 to give more photo clubs and organizations a chance to raise funds for their groups,” added Arteficio.

Just recently, Canon turned over rebates amounting PhP128,195.00 to Pinoy Photographers Org or PhiPho, who will be using the funds for their annual Christmas party at the end of the year as well as for their regular out-of-town shoots and trainings.

Registration and claim forms are available at Canon retail outlets. Submission of accomplished forms and verified documents may be done in person at Canon Marketing (Philippines) Inc. head office located at Marvin Plaza Building, Don Chino Roces Avenue, Makati City 1233, through fax 812-0067 or email info@canon.com.ph.

Photography Workshop @ Trinoma

My Little Pre-schooler's First Day In School!

I'm very proud of my little Sam because she was able to overcome her shyness by being brave and cooperative on her very first day of school! I thought she would be clingy to me and will refuse me to leave her inside her classroom. Since it's the first day of school, the teachers still allowed us...the parents, to sit-in that's why i was able to shoot and captured some shots.

Teachers started the class with a prayer (that they need to memorize, by the way) followed by singing a couple of nursery rhymes. Then the teachers had this activity about the different animals and asked each of the student to identify some. So proud of Sam because she was able to answer all the questions that her teachers asked her :p Then for the story telling, they were asked to transfer to the other room (with floor matting already, toys, etc.). Sam was so mesmerize with this colorful room..haha! :p This time, parents were no longer allowed inside. But there's still this big window so we can take a peek once in a while. Again, my mamarrazi mode was turned on again!..hehe! The other classroom that they'll be having their formal class will be closed for us. Sam listens very well in the story telling and even tried to answers some questions. The other kids were not listening and just keep on playing at the back. After the story telling and some question & answers activity, It's time to go back to their classroom. But first, they need to identify their own shoes (because they were asked to removed it earlier) and wear it without any help. Good thing Sam was able to identify hers and was even able to put it back on her own. :p When they were asked to return to their classroom, parents were already off limits inside their room! They had their recess and the teachers checked on their things like the required books and other school stuffs. When their class was done, Sam immediately showed me her big Blue Star with a Very Good stamp in her left hand! Of course, I was surprised and really very proud with her very first achievement in school! Don't know what happened inside but I'm sure she did very well. :p

They're more than 10 students in the class with 2 teachers. Actually we still don't have a formal orientation yet, which I know is a must for us...the parents, to know the "what's in it" for our kids. I don't know when will be the schedule for that...arrgh! For now, they'll be having 5 subjects (5 books), a 20 mans recess from their 2 hours class..hehe, PE's on friday and that's it! When i asked the teachers, there's really a schedule for the orientation to discuss some important matters about the things they'll be teaching & what to expect with our kids academics and everything. Tomorrow will be their formal start of school na, so meaning no parents allowed na inside the classroom...huhu! :p... And to tell everybody, Sam is so excited and can't wait to go to her school again!

Nicksplat's: Let's Just Play Event

Date: 28 June 2008

Time: 2pm- 6pm

Venue: Bonifacio Global City Open Field in Taguig City (At the back of NBC Tent)

Even though April and May are gone, summer can go on and on and on…. As long as you stay healthy and keep the playful energy of your summer vacations! The sun may disappear from time to time, but that only means more fun for us ‘cause we can make a big, wet splash with friends from Nickelodeon! All you got to do is go out and get in on the action! A wet celebration is about to spray your way!

Showers of fun and slime wait for you in Nickelodeon’s Day of Play!

Do not forget to bring your squirters and extra change of clothes! You know what that means…It is time to get up and have another Nick-tastic time!

Sharing the Love Award

An award came from Wheng. Thanks sis! The story is really inspiring.

This award is extra special because Crystal created it in honor of the donor who saved her sons life. Her son Noah had to have a heart transplant when he was just over a month old. This award is supposed to help raise awareness of the importance of organ donation.

So, here are the rules Crystal gave:

“The rules of this award are: SHARE THE LOVE!!! Share this award with all those blogs out there that you love. All the people who make you smile. All those that make you laugh. All those that make your day. All those that leave uplifting comments on your blog. **All I ask, is that you include a link to this post with the award and ask your recipient to do the same**

As you may have recently seen on my side bar, I have finally created a custom blog award!! I have wanted to do this for a long time but never came up with something that “fit”. I didn’t want just anything. It had to be something that meant something to me. And what could mean more than Sharing the Love by giving you pieces of my heart?? So I created this award in Honor Of The Donor That Saved Noah’s Life. I share this award with those of you whose love and friendship have enriched my life and made my world a better place.

I hope by passing this award around the blogging world we can all help raise awareness of the need for Organ Donation.”

Im passing this award to anyone read this blog. Feel free to grab it and continue to share the love.

Happy Father's Day Daddy!

To My Daddy

I crown the stars with sparkles,
Like glints in diamond skies,
I'm graced with heart so golden,
'Tis where my beauty lies.

I am your gift of sunshine,
Adorable, Expressive,
Precious as the day is long,
Simply put--impressive.

I treasure all our play times,
And nights with "Goodnight Moon",
The time we build sand castles,
And sing our silly tunes...

The time we shoot the hoops,

And on your shoulders high,

I ride you like a pony,

Way up in the sky.

I am a gift from heaven,

God's grace He did bestow,

Among the stars to pirouette,

In ballerina's glow.

I am a pricelss jewel,

More costly than a pearl,

With wit and charm that can't be matched,

For I am Daddy's Girl!

Visit to Our Lady Of Mananoag

After visiting the amusing Tacsiyapo Wall in Tarlac, we headed to our next destination...the church of Our Lady of Manaoag. I'm always hoping to visit this place ever since and I'm really glad to had it finally granted. Visiting the church with my familly was indeed a blessing for me and will be kept as one of my most treasured and memorable experience. We may not be that religous, but introducing to Sam at an early time the importance of being a good servant of God and thanking him for all the blessing she received is really important. Still looking forward to visit the church again in the future ni matter how far it is.

Manaoag Pangasinan is one of the Philippines pilgrimage centers, thanks to the presence of the Our Lady of Manaoag Shrine, home to the image of the Nuestra Señora del Rosario (i.e., Our Lady of the Rosary), which is believed to have miraculous powers. Non-Catholics may scoff at such idolatrous devotion, but that has not deterred millions of Filipino Catholics from visiting the shrine and venerating this representation of the Virgin Mary.

The image of Mary itself is said to have been brought to the Philippine Islands by way of Acapulco, Mexico by Padre Juan de San Jacinto around 400 years ago. Folk history even declares that it was the Virgin herself that designated where the church to house her image was to be built. Nowadays, pilgrims visit the church all year round but it is especially busy during the summer months of April and May. Many leave their homes before daybreak just to reach the morning masses in the shrine and to be the first in line to touch the image's robes through a small hole at the back of the altar.

Trivia:The church of Our Lady of Manaoag was established 400 years ago. Ten years after which, The ivory image was brought to the Philippines by Padre Juan de San Jacinto from Spain via Acapulco. Folk tradition has it that the Blessed Mother mary Herself designated the place where the church would be built. The church and Our Lady passed through unnumbered historical events, and remain unmoved by them.