Catching Up

Whew! I'm back from a long hiatus! I spent my New Year in the Philippines, the 18 day vaca-work turned out to 10 days. At least I had a taste of Philippines holidays. It was still a blast despite of the many bad news afterwards. This is the third time surprising my family and friends of my visit. 

2013 Countdown in Makati City, Philippines (not the best coundown though)

I was having such a great time and looking forward to spend my last week of in the Philippines with husband, unfortunately, while he was in Singapore the dog boarding notified us that our pooch needs immediate assistance. She could not stand no matter how they try to help her. They rushed her to her vet and it was suspected that she has either a tumor in her brain or a stroke. It was heartbreaking! They could not give her any medication as she was not in pain, all her tests turned out normal except for the last suggestion needed to be done, MRI to check if she has inflammation or tumor in the brain which is not really the best option for an old dog.

The moment my husband arrived in the Philippines, we had to book my flight back to the US so I can personally check and take care of my pooch. All the way from the airport I headed to Tailwaggerz to pick up my dog. TailWaggerz did a great job taking care of our fur baby, I cried seeing my dog. 

After 5 days, Luna was able to walk slowly then after a week she can walk up and down the stairs by herself. We are proud to say that she is now a stroke survivor. I will post videos soon.

Message Box Remove

You may probably notice that the message box widget has been deleted. Yes, I deleted it! There were lots of spam. I mean I appreciate the people stumbling upon my blog but flooding my message box is not pleasant.

If you would like to leave me a message, please go to my blog post footer and add a comment. That way I can filter and publish. Thank you!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays! Christmas is just around the corner! Are we all excited what Santa brought us under the tree? Opppss, this photo was taken when Santa was still in the North Pole.

I am excited! Yep! So excited! I know Luna is not excited for us but she will be happy to spend time with her countrymen.

Let's all welcome 2013 with a blast!

Advocate For Change

I picked a farmer! Wondering why? Last week, my SO asked me to pick one of the members from the Philippines so we can lend $25 for them to use for their business. This is site helping small business owners. After looking through all the profiles, I chose Mang Lorenzo a farmer. I have a heart for farmers as my dad was a farmer.

I did not know that there are websites you can visit to donate to charities. One of them is triangle direct where you can choose a charity of your choice. Recently, we donated to 2 charities through another site as well for a foundation and a humane society. We want to help to change the world and we want to start it from ourselves.

Safety First

Everyone is saddened by the rampage in Newtown, CT. It breaks my heart how these children lost their precious life. No one can explain the reason of the tragic shooting that took 27 lives. Technology nowadays can help us avoid such incidents like this by installing security cameras not only in public places but also in our own place to protect our family. I know I am not the only one who heard or seen the camera installed in home and you can actually monitor through your cellphone even if you are at work.

We need to be vigilant in our surroundings and also important to have presence of mind in everything we do in public. I also like the idea where you can also use your phone camera to report crimes you you've witness. It is a big help for us to get to know what's going on around us.

I'm Not Gone, But Not Really Back Yet

Gone are the days when I was dedicated to blogosphere. This blog used to have hundreds of backlinks and updated almost every day. I would be lying if I say iI do not miss those precious times when the blogosphere was invaded by online marketing and making extra bucks was just like a snap of your fingers. Well, this blog was used to be my online journal, neat, updated and well maintained. Shall I write more? What's holding me back? There are questions that I am personally unsure why I became a lazy butt!

My worries were mainly about privacy. We know how the cyberworld can ruin anything under the sun! Scammers, stalkers, frauds, etc. etc! Name it, you can all find it on the internet. But hey, this is not all about negative stuffs online, Sutil made friends for keeps through blogging. That's what I am thankful for. I remember my goofy corn eating pic that captured my now great friend's eyes! Darn, I could not even find a copy of that pic now. 

Oh well, I like to write longer but I am running out of time. It's my little girl's spa appointment in 50 minutes. Who still remember my baby? Oh hell yeah, that's my dog! 

Five years has passed, this moon pie has become a certified member of our goofy but happy family. I so love her and no one could ever harm her or they have to face me!

Upgraded to Nikon D5100

 Hobby can sometimes be expensive! I am a photo hobbyists since I was a kid and getting my own DSLR camera is like a dream toy for me.  I was lucky to take basic classes at the University where I work and that was awesome!

Being a kikay, I don't like carrying big bags and heavy stuffs when traveling. But if you want great photos you would have to pay for it's price. I started with nikon d3100 for over a year then upgraded to nikon d5100 just recently. I think I will stick with the latter for a while unless I take this to the next level.

So the moment I got my new toy, I tested it right away. The first thing I saw as a subject was my fresh flowers on the dining table. There it is! I am not sure what lens I used here though, but definitely not the 55mm kit lens. It could be my 50mm prime lens.

I still carry my canon point and shoot in my purse just in case there are unexpected moments that I need to take photos. Next step for me is to take workshops to learn more.

Fun Ride But Stay Safe

Our recent vacation in Bermuda was a blast! I posted photos of our fun getaway in my previous post. What made it more special is the scooter fun ride during our entire trip. The island is marvelous! Small roads but no traffic unless you are in the downtown where the malls and cruise docks are located. We rented a scooter to get us around, before they let you go they had test drive to ensure you are all set on the road. I am freak to use common rental stuff such as helmet and would like to buy motorcycle helmet for myself but I had to be practical because we'll only use it for 5 days anyway. That was such a fun fun trip!