Around Here.

Celebrating a milestone. My first-born is now officially a teenager. I know she's ready for the leap, but I am not sure I am. Feeling anxious about how she's growing up too fast for me to catch up. Been meaning to schedule bonding dates with her but sometimes I can never find the time. Had dinner with the family at Wooden Horse in Alabang as my not-so-little girl said she wanted to eat steak! I wasn't really keen on the masculine ambience of the restaurant, haha, as I didn't think it was appropriate for a teenage girl! But, the girl wants what the girl wants. Oh well. Just letting go.

Packing the boy's overnight luggage. He couldn't wait till his sister's birthday dinner was over. Apparently, it was because he wanted to make sure that everything was ready for his 'mini' adventure this weekend.

Sending the little one off to an overnight student seminar. Will definitely miss the chatter and the clutter around the house today and tomorrow.

Enjoying quiet time with the H as my new class schedule gives me a bit more Friday morning time at home. Didn't quite look forward to an afternoon only class at first, but I guess it isn't really so bad.

Taking school work a day at a time. I've got a pile of papers to mark but I don't really look forward to marking papers. Period.

Trying to read Deborah Harkness' A Discovery of Witches. It's been on my nightstand for the longest time. Not sure why I'm stuck.

Eating Cadbury Rocky Road chocolate bar. First time to encounter the variety. Surprised to learn that I love it! Especially love the chewy sweet things inside.

Looking forward to watching The King & I at the Resorts World this weekend, and then the Phantom next. For some reason, I really, really enjoy watching plays.

Planning to cook chicken enchilada and maybe even some cheesecake this weekend. Or maybe even artisan bread. Feeling bad that I haven't really quite managed to squeeze in some kitchen time for several weeks now.

Spending a lot of time on Facebook. Hee. But... feeling mighty proud of the fact that I am not playing as much as I used to. Little steps.

Easing into the fitness habit. Meeting up with some people in my neighborhood 3X a week, for less than 30 minutes at a time, as we try to shed some unwanted pounds. Still feeling a bit bloated, but I know that I will get myself into a better shape. Soon, I hope!

Keeping up with my Project Life. I thought my main problem was editing/printing photos that I have taken. Apparently, I am also bogged down by the fact that I take quite a number of photos and it's now getting difficult to sift through them, just trying to decide which ones I'd like to slip into my album pockets. Or then again, maybe not. Maybe it's only because I am really behind schedule. Still, I am also looking forward to taking an online photography class. I just pray that I will have the patience and the time to read through the class and apply the notes/tips.

Starting to plan for Halloween. Really excited about putting things together.

Feeling really excited about our upcoming mini holiday trip. This is the first time we will be away for New Year's Eve. Looking forward to spending time with the H's family.

Living with the fact that I am somewhat 'family-less'. Feeling grateful for the people who are around me right now, who keep me sane, pre-occupied and not so bothered.

I'm glad I've decided to take on Ali's challenge to document the goings-on in my life right now.

and so it begins

counting down til studio calico reveal night.
ah. i can't wait!

week 3

the last batch of challenges were posted last week and i just had to do them all, lol!

art inspiration- the challenge was for us to draw inspiration from this piece of art

and so I decided to play :)

supplies: Bazzill cardstock, MM acrylic paint, Basic Grey and Fontwerks stamps, Versafine ink pad, AC alphas, Dymo label

up next was a challenge to bring on the bling so i brought it ;)

I applied glimmer mist to the background page and then used other bling-y stuff: Prima say it in crystals and AC alphas
other supplies: Bazzill, Basic Grey stamp, Brilliance ink pad

i had to double my effort for the next challenge as I am truly musically challenged through and through. lol!

first off, i really can't carry a tune - even if you ask all the members of my family! eek! and secondly, i can never think of a song to associate my pages with. a light bulb flickered as i was visiting a blog with a playlist (can't remember whose it is, though, but thanks so much for the inspiration!) i heard a version of Mariah Carey's always be my baby song and ta-da! uhm, it's not so much the lyrics but the title i wanted to use :)


supplies: Bad Girls May kit + Prima flower, Heidi Swapp bling, MM acrylic paint, Lil Davis alpha rub ons

this last challenge was added to the roster as some girls thought it odd that there were only 3 challenges posted for the week and just had to ask for more! (i think i might have been one of those girls, lol!) so, we were thrown the mother lode of all challenges: a 2-page sketch! ack! i almost never do 2-pagers these days for some reason... so this really topped the cake! it's sad... considering i started scrapbooking with the best intentions of doing only 2-page LOs. times change, indeed!



supplies: Bazzill cardstock, Scenic Route and Pink Paislee papers, Pink Paislee die cuts, Catslife Press stamp, Stazon ink, KI Memories alpha stickers

other challenges going on last week:
Rewind - to give a chance to some girls who weren't able to complete previous challenges, or just a chance for the others who have done so, to rack up more points :)

since i've already managed to do all of the previous weeks' challenges, i went for the challenge i love doing best - designer knock off :)
i picked a page by Tina Aszmus
and came up with this

supplies: label tulip january kit (i think) + MM tiny alphas

just for good measure, the last hurrah challenge was posted a day before the last day of the contest - we simply had to pick a page from the gallery. I picked one by Zeldadog and lifted away

supplies: Studio Azul december kit + Scenic Route paper

then over at Bad Girls, the DDD challenge for this week was to scrap something we're looking forward to this September
I had to really think about this one, but in the end, I kept it simple (as usual! ha!)

supplies: Studio Calico (i forget which month) + Fontwerks stamp, Versafine ink pad

LT anniversary crop

decided to join some of the challenges posted at LT and here's what i came up with

scraplift challenge
a lift of Jamie Ko's page
materials: LT kit

a lift of Waleska's page
materials: LT kit

stash challenge

using SA feb and march kits =)

ad inspiration challenge
materials: a mix of Studio Calico and Studio Azul =)

june challenge to scrap blurred photos
materials: LT kit

i still believe in good

yesterday, i received a PO notice for a package. after a quick scan of the small piece of paper in my hand, I just had to groan when I saw that I had to pick it up from the Las Pinas PO yet again.

today, I had some free time so I decided to go and pick it up myself. I braced myself for the worst, while I silently repeated a string of possible pleas and rejoinders, in case the customs people asked for an exorbitant amount.

I actually got off work close to 12 noon. I wasn't sure if government agencies still honored a one-hour lunch break these days but I decided to try my luck anyways. It was 1220PM. Post office counters had signs to say they were open so I quickly went up to the 2nd floor where the customs counters are located. No hustle and bustle up there. I saw a couple of men having lunch and in a tone dripping with honey, I asked if I could pick up a parcel. One of them apologetically declared that the customs people were out for lunch, but he actually got up to check if anybody was still in the office, just in case. No luck. He then politely asked me to come back at 1 pm. I resigned myself to the fact that there was no other way around it but to wait.

As I turned to leave, another man approached me to ask if there was anything he could do. A quick check of my notice and he just re-confirmed what the other guy said earlier. I jokingly told him that he got my hopes up for nothing. 1 pm it was. Not a few seconds later, a lady, a customs officer, methinks, came to my rescue! She was willing to go into the customs office to issue my package! I was beside myself with excitement! Hehe. I quickly spotted my box sitting on top of all the others and I politely informed the lady that that was perhaps the box she was looking for.

Yep. it was mine alright. I hurriedly fished around my bag for some small bills and I was ready with my P40 in no time :) In case they asked for a higher duty tax, I was ready to argue my point that other PO offices usually only charge me P35. HEHE. A quick inspection of my PO notice and they were ready to hand me my goodie box. The lady officer conferred with the record keeper to ask if she still needed to see some identification. She did, so I quickly produced my driver's license and signed where she asked me to. I was handing her my payment when the lady officer said there was no payment needed! :o :o :o i was royally surprised but did not bother to ask why! HAHA!



OK. Studio Calico boxes usually weigh about 2 pounds, give or take a few ounces, and even with the number of add-ons I ordered this month, I didn't think my box weighed more than 4 pounds. The lady officer even went an extra mile to ask if I had someone to carry my box for me, sounding as if she was ready to ask 1 of her boys to carry my parcel for me had I asked!

Where is all this goodness coming from? No complaints here. I am just so thankful that there is still a measure of good in this world =)

side note: isn't that map of Paris simply too cool to cut up? what am i going to do???

All this for 1 paper?
yep. a few weeks ago, I emailed Scarlet and April just to ask if perhaps they had an extra MM die cut paper that was missing from one of my add-ons last month. They responded that they had no spare to send but they were willing to send me either duplicates of the patterned papers in the main kit or OA papers. I simply needed to inform them which option I wanted. I was so flabbergasted I didn't know what to say. It took me sometime to email them back to ask them to just send whatever they thought was the better option. And now here they are.

Update: these BG goodies were delivered to my doorstep today while I was away to pick the kids up from school



What have I done to deserve this? Surely, I must be in scrapper's heaven! =)

kaya challenge 15

this month's challenge is to scrap a sketch by none other than my SA boss girl - so I had no choice but to submit a page! hehehe! just teasing! :) i've been wanting to use the sketch since I saw it a few days ago but I didn't get the chance to do so until this morning, just before I left for work =)

Journaling: you were so excited to meet Polo for the 1st time. Even though you sometimes feel apprehensive about getting near dogs, you just couldn't resist to play with him. 4/07

Materials Used: studio calico kit - pink paislee, sassafrass and scenic route papers, scenic route and making memories stickers, prima chipboard alphas

puzzled

by the fact that my SC June kit somehow didn't land on my doorstep this month and ended up in the Las Pinas PO despite the fact that my address label indicated Paranaque! eek! last i heard, customs people assigned over there can get really nasty and just slap tax amounts they grab out of thin air onto people's parcels. as usual, i had G pick it up for me, and as he won't tell me how much his messenger had to pay for it, i really can't pass judgment on Las Pinas customs at this time. It was probably a modest amount as G didn't bother to pass on the cost to me! LOL! Thanks G =)

oh, but i was in for a treat! i was eyeing the picket fence add on but it got sold out on me so i had to opt for the berry picking add on instead. luckily, SC decided to put together a suitable replacement so I made arrangements to order it. when a dear friend found out, she graciously picked up the bill for it and even sent me a surprise gift - and only because i did a very minor favor for her!! thanks so much, girl! you're much too nice! =)

60 pages

yep. that's how behind i am on my scrapping!! decided to get back into gear somehow and here's what i ended up with several days ago; I only managed to find the time to add titles and journaling this weekend:
haha. several months ago, i had the mind to have these photos printed but soon after, i had a 'what-was-i-thinking-having-these-photos-printed' moment! LOL!!! well obviously, i finally decided to scrap them - gotta use up the photo stash! there's more where that came from! *groan*

thing is, i can't really say if discovering photoshop was a good or a bad thing. now, before i can even scrap a page, I get to thinking if I should be editing my photos before printing them out! and this just slows down the whole process, KWIM? instead of scrapping, i tend to sit in front of the computer tinkering with my photos (which aren't all that great, so I spend much time with them) and then I see all my recent photos and I get overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of the task ahead. then i get distracted. No photos edited. No photos printed. Ergo, NO LOs DONE.

so then i decide to just scrap my previously printed out, unadulterated photos (which we know aren't all that great either) and then I'm not happy =( oh the headache of it all! how do you girls do it? how do you find the time to edit those photos into 'awesomeness' and never seem to run out of time to scrap them?

should i just stop taking photos? oh but I don't think I'd have the heart to do that.

ah well. maybe i'll try to maintain the status quo for now and just use up my 'bad' photos to get those pages done.

Here's another completed page using a couple of photos from my seemingly 'never-diminishing' pile.


another random thought. last night, as i was going through my art of doing nothing routine, i got to thinking: here i am, trying to rid myself of my photo stash and what do i end up with? even bigger piles of paper to showcase my photos on. now how do i find the storage for all of those pages and albums? hmmm... maybe i should just scrap more photos on a page like i originally set out to do (just so there'd be less pages to store) but then again, how do i get to use up my stash? aaaargh. i am in deep sh*t, i know! please just ignore me! =)

marking my 100th

yay!!! thanks to challenges and my my DT stint, I can proudly say my 100th page for the year came sooner than I thought it would! of course, it helps that I tend to do simple pages, haha!

This one's for a DDD and a sketch challenge:

supplies: mostly from SC Feb kit: Bazzill, Hambly rub on and screen print, Daisy Ds and Jenni Bowlin papers, Scenic Route chipboard, Colorbox ink, staple wire, Zig pen

This one's for a lift challenge at Ittybitty

Supplies: Bazzill cardstock, Making Memories stamps, notepad paper and acrylic paint, Collage Press journal cards and alphas, Tim Holtz grungeboard and Distress ink, date stamp, Versa inkpad, Zig pen

tell me why i don't like mondays...

haha! i think i just may start loving mondays now.

this is getting to be exciting! another doorstep delivery! the box looked kinda rundown but hey, it's the goodies that count right! =) i am getting really spoiled here! hmmmm.... may i start playing now?

what a fun way to start the week, huh?

getting things done

Took advantage of my week off last week by working on several pages :) gotta love breaks! My sister Mela and her girls came by one afternoon and we decided to work on some pages. Here are a few of the pages I completed









PAGE CHECK: Yay! 65 done, 300 to go!!!!


Unfortunately, because DH wasn't feeling particularly excited about Easter this year, the kids didn't get the chance to hunt for eggs :( Good thing they settled for a trip to the mall and dinner out! So sorry about that! Will try to make it up to you next year.