it's been a while...

...and even i have to admit that i missed a lot by not going online. well, that's what happen when technology advances so fast that a few-years-old computer may be considered obsolete in just a short period of time. but good thing my brother is a computer expert and he was able to keep the thing running despite the fact that it wants to die on us already. hihihi.

i really hope that i could drop by and say hi to everyone who had been wishing me well. but if i fail to do so, this message goes out to you. :) {thank you for your concern}

off to some great news. we are 16 weeks into the pregnancy (yes! our JP is going to be a big - and we mean really BIG brother soon) and we are all so very excited. so far, we are coming along well aside from some required bed rest during the first trimester (that didn't contribute to much online activities either). but hopefully, everything will be smooth sailing (for my sanity's sake please, hihihi) i don't have a very nice pregnancy history so i really am keeping my fingers crossed that this time will be different.

and to all you out there, i wish you all well. i will leave you with a picture that amuses me lately. same pose different day of this pretty girl {i hope my baby will look as pretty as her, if i were to have a girl}.

power interruptions + the save

i know that electric companies like it during the summer to fix their powerlines, etc. but why does it always have to be at the time when: you are enjoying a peaceful afternoon nap. in the middle of blogging. at the highlight of the CSI episode when their CSI supervisor is leaving? huh? why?

before this season started i knew that Gill was leaving [and Fishburne will replace him] but i was in denial [i really like his style]. it took them how many episodes before he actually exited and i hate power interruptions i didn't get to finish the whole episode. grrr. anyway, will have to watch from the net.

on to a good news. the AI judges used their save. yey. it was a dramatic scene and i actually almost cried {but i did cry when Gill announced that he's leaving}. hihi. i do agree with Simon though that Matt can't win this but still they saved him {i was moved when he cried and Kris was all hugging him and they were all jumping up and down the stage}. yeah. for the drama.

i have been rooting for him since the wild card {my other fave was Ricky}. what i love about him {with my best Kara voice and hand gestures ;-D hihi } is the improvement he'd shown every week. he may have lapsed a week or 2 but as of this week in the competetion, he showed so much potential {reminiscent of Elliot Yamin, which by the I love too}. he has another week to show America that he can still be in the finals {i am really hoping that they'll vote for him}. but as of AI history, you know as early as the top 24 {this time top 36} who will be battling it off at the finals {and Adam it is for me :-D but i do like cute Kris too}

winner or not. isn't it an honor for Matt that Simon even considered to save him? well, he seemed to be a nice guy and he can really sing {and play the piano too}. i am so excited to see next week's show. {still crossing my fingers for Matt} :-D

how would you feel when someone questions your parenting skills?

a tough situation to be at, huh? a big YES indeed.

it is quite challenging raising children nowadays. i am sure most of you would agree with me on this. children today are rambunctious. so different when it was us. we sit in a corner and we won't speak unless we are spoken to. i was that kind of child and so it was pretty difficult dealing with a very active boy {to say the least}.

am i a disciplinarian? i think i am not. yet i think i am.

my siblings and i grew up with disciplinarian parents. that given, i knew i didn't want to completely adopt this when i raise my own children. i do want order. yes. but i didn't want to control my children or their childhood.

and i often find it good. children showing independence and willfulness. as long as they don't get hurt in the process of their exploration, i am good with that. guidance is the key and not control. but be questioned for being a parent because your child is simply being a child? is it fair?

i guess i can only shrug my shoulders and wish that people would see my son as we see him everyday. a very loving and sweet (unruly, yes) but sweet as it is. knowing that, i guess being questioned doesn't bother me that much (no one knows me better than i know myself and no one knows my son better that we, his parents, do)

and so i rest my case.

tired?

will you also feel this way if...

have to stay up for almost 24 hours. cooking and preparing for your child's graduation {at the end of our celebration, i literally felt my knees buckle}

son went to his graduation and reading recital without his reading materials {imagine me so confident that his copies were left with his teacher kasi wala sa bag nya e} we have to resort to sharing his co-reader's copy {kawawang mga bata}

hubby's first day of work overwhelms him. manageable and challenging according to him. but because i don't get to see him in action anymore, it makes me anxious

haven't scrapped a page for almost a month. {thank goodness i recently did some ATCs - at least scrap na din yun}

have to go to push myself to go to work {lahat bawal, paghinga na lang ata ang hindi - hehe - ganyan talaga approach when you are itching to just stay home hihi}

but i have to say that after a 10-hour sleep, i feel better. energized and optimistic. :-D

{venting out: TFListening}

*****on a totally different note {these kind of news i won't get tired of sharing :) }*****

a good friend launched a new blog for her scrap shop

The Scrap Yard Shop

expect lots of contests and giveaways. visit Gracie to see what i mean. :-D

the book

is very detailed. it disappoints me at times when i watch movies adapted from books. the movie would always often leave out some parts. parts that are crucial in understanding the characters and the events surrounding these characters.

here's one part of the book that i love.
{love the song too, but it's not in the movie or in the OST}



if you read the book (lucky you), you'll know why i love this part. there's so much love not just from Edward but also from Esme. as a mother, i really felt Esme's happiness to see her only son who haven't found his partner in life yet (after life for them i guess) meet the love of his life. second to the part when Edward shared his meadow to Bella {that's also the part when he showed his body sparkling like lots of diamonds under the sun - a part which wasn't translated well in the movie :-( }. and i can point out a lot of differences from the book now that i have watched it again. but that doesn't change that i liked the series and can't wait until they complete 4 movies. {newflash: it's official. dakota fanning will be playing jane in the Twilight second installment, New Moon.}

but in fairness, i did like the movie. especially the baseball scene. and the one when Alice broke James' neck. it was so cool to have a visual of it in the movie. i like the movie enough to watch it again. :-D {yeah, now i understand why lea sanders is counting the times she'd seen the movie. i just can't wait until the next one is shown}

twilight and breaking dawn are my favorites in the saga.
how about you? which of these books call you to read again?

older?

it's 3 am and i found myself wide awake after just an hour of sleep. it's the temperature {or not}. i wouldn't believe my grandma if i am not beginning to experience it myself. she would often tell us that as you grow older, the lesser sleep you need {not probably the most accurate word}. but lately, my body {and mind} can only take a few hours of sleep {power naps}. afterwhich, i'll get up and do the laundry {hihi}. anyway, just give me a few weeks like this and i am sure i'll be wanting that more-than-8 hours-of-sleep to get energized.

digging deeper, i feel that scrapping is the culprit. {yeah baby}. i often lay awake thinking of all the projects i wanted to finish. the pages i wanted to do. {if only work and responsibilities don't come first}. well anyway, this just gives me a good reason to finish off another busy week and finally be able to scrap.

will leave you with a picture that my JP took with my camera {nice shot `e?}


this cute baby girl is now a big girl. preparing to be a big sister already. hihi.

wishing you all a great week ahead. :-D

what's simple is true

the more i live
the more i know
what's simple is true
i love you
- jewel -

{been inspired by her for ever}

happy weekend everyone! :)

I {heart} Grey's

Seriously,

I was able to catch a few episodes of the reruns of Grey's Anatomy season 1. It's already on the part when Addison accepted the offer to stay at Seattle Grace. It was the part when Derek is torn between trying to make his marriage work and his feelings for Meredith but he chooses the relationship that was tested by time. Although I know what happens after that, I still cannot help but cry when I get to think that I am feeling what Mer is feeling {I didn't mean I can relate - I am just a cry baby ;) }. It sucks to be the abandoned one.

Mer was narrating and at the end of the episode, she asked how much is too much. I like the way Grey's episode are started and ended with one of the characters narrating. A common sentiment that most characters share. Mer was pertaining to her love for Derek. It also applies to Izzie's growing fondness for Alex and Burck's attraction to Cristina Yang.

Hopefully, I'll get to start watchin the 4th Season soon. I still have Heroes, Desperate Housewives and CSI waiting in line. And from the 2 episodes I saw of Private Practive, I am so very interested in the nice Addison character. {Oh, time. So much to do, so little time}.

a mother's fear

because i only have one child, it doesn't mean that when i have another one the love i have for my first born will lessen. it doesn't mean that i'll be torn. but it has always been at the back of my mind. how will i be able to love my children with different personalities, equally? i have only one child, so i don't know how (yet).

will i be able to learn how? i believe so. the same way my instincts guided me when i'd first known that i will soon be a mom.

i worry, but i am confident that i will overcome it. i will learn.

car pe diem

i remember my religion teacher in high school. she is one Benedictine nun who really has a great sense of humor. her class was so full of life that i look forward to each day we would meet her.

she'd give us exciting activities, would ask us to do our own plays, lets us watch movies to convey the lessons she wants us to learn as youngsters.

there is this movie that never really left my memory [until now, it has a great positive effect on me].

dead poets society. it stars robin williams, ethan hawke and robert sean leonard. what i really remember about this movie was what robin williams (an english professor) told his students. car pe diem. seize the day. live in each moment as if it were the last.

up to this day, i try to remember the lesson Sister Berna wanted us to learn when she had us watch dead poets society. it is one life advice that i will never forget. and i made a layout of it to remind me every day to simply savor THE moment.

and i just love how my son can always make me smile with such slick moves. you'll see him below cheering me on with his thumbs up to my layout. [we both love the color green, so anything that is in that color - we love]. TFL. :-)