April 28, 2009

That’s what I kinda felt like yesterday when I went to my little girl’s school to talk about the Philippines.  I had two huge bags filled with Philippine made products and anyone who has had jobs in sales would have mistaken me for a sales agent of sorts.  It turned out to be a fun 40-minute presentation.  The pre-schoolers seemed very interested in what I was sharing.

I also brought them these…

…Mamon (Filipino Sponge Cake), so the kids and their teachers could sample one of our favorite snacks from the Philippines.

I shall write a more cohesive account of my “speaking engagement” before the preschoolers on my personal blog.

April 25, 2009

We were fortunate to have been able to visit the Dallas Arboretum last March 22nd, when the Dallas Blooms was taking place.  The Dallas Blooms is the largest outdoor festival in the Southwest and lasts for 6 weeks (March 7th to April 12).  This year, the festival celebrated it’s 25th year.  We couldn’t have come at a better time!

I took a lot of photos, photos that now take up a chunk of my computer memory.  Below is a slideshow of some of my favorite photos.  Enjoy!

April 23, 2009

WifeSpeaks is back! After a long period of silence, it has been refreshed and revamped and come April 27th, Monday, it will be reloaded!

Just to give you a short backgrounder, WifeSpeaks is made up of a group of wives (a.k.a. Wifespeakers) who love to talk about everything: life, love, and the everyday joys and challenges experienced by married women. It used to be that the WifeSpeakers share their thoughts on a particular topic posted at the start of the week. Now, that will no longer be the case.

What’s new? For one, we will now be updating the site EVERYDAY, blog-carnival style! Everyone has so much to share and we figured that this would be the best way to go about it. From Monday to Friday, we will be posting topics on different categories. And hopefully, everyone finds something that matches their interest/s.

Curious? Hop on over to WifeSpeaks. Please do take the time to check out the FAQs and About WS page.

Next week, the WifeSpeakers will start the ball rolling by introducing the different categories. We really hope you can join us!

See y’all at WS on Monday…make that EVERYDAY!  Cheers!

April 22, 2009

Hindi ako nakalahok noong nakaraang linggo sa LP, kaya’t pagsasamahin ko na lamang ang dalawang tema sa iisang entry.

Ang gusali sa larawan sa itaas ay ang Lucille Halsell Conservatory na siyang matatagpuan sa San Antonio Botanical Garden.  Nagkaroon kami ng pagkakataong bisitahin ito noong Enero ng 2008.

(The building in the above photo is the Lucille Halsell Conservatory, which is part of the San Antonio Botanical Garden.  It does look like one of the Westgate resorts at first glance, doesn’t it?  We had the chance to visit the San Antonio Botanical Garden in January 2008).

Kabilang sa mga pangkat ng mga halamang matatagpuan sa loob ng konserbatoryong ito ang mga sumusunod: epiphytic plants, desert cacti at succulents, equatorial tropicals, palms at cycads, tropical fruits, ferns at aroids, insectivores, and aquatic plants.  Ang lahat ng mga ito’y may kani-kaniyang lugar sa loob ng konserbatoryo na nagbibigay sa kanil ng “climate-controlled environment”.

(Inside the conservatory, plants that need a climate-controlled environment are housed according to groups in individual  rooms.)

Narito ang bahagi na siyang naglalaman ng mga palm trees…

(Here is the 65-foot high area where palm trees are housed…)

Ilan sa mga bulaklak na makikita sa loob ng konserbatoryo ay ang mga orchids sa mga sumusunod na litrato…

(Some of the beautiful flowers that can be seen inside the conservatory are the orchids in the following pictures…)

Isa pang lahok para sa LP DITO.

Mabuhay!

April 2, 2009

Unang taong anibersaryo ng Litratong Pinoy bukas, ika-3 ng Abril.  At ang pang-anibersaryong tema ng LP ay “Paboritong Litrato”.

Sa muli naming pagbabakasyon sa Dallas magdadalawang linggo na ang nakaraan, binisita namin ang Mustang of Las Colinas sa pangalawang pagkakataon.  Ngunit sa pagkakataong ito, hindi na ang mga mustangs ang pinagtuunan ko ng pansin sa pagkuha ng mga litrato.  Nagkaroon kami ng kaunting katuwaan ng aking mga modelo, at sila’y walang iba kundi ang aking anak, kabiyak at ang isang mustang. Narito ang aking mga paboritong litrato mula sa hapong iyon…

(It’s the first anniversary of Litratong Pinoy tomorrow, April 3rd.  LP’s anniversary theme is “Favorite Photo”.

Two weeks ago, we spent the weekend in Dallas.  For the 2nd time, we visited one of Irving’s tourist attractions, the Mustangs of Las Colinas.  This time, however, I didn’t take very many photos of the mustangs as I already had plenty from our August visit.  Instead, I decided to have fun with my models: my daughter, my  husband, and one of the mustangs.  Here are my favorite photos from that afternoon…)

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Abby:  Nakikiliti ang tenga ko! (That tickles!)

Abby:  Mommy!  Kasya ang kamay ko sa butas ng ilong ng mustang!  (Look, Mom!  My hand fits inside the mustang’s nose!)

Oras ng Kain (Feeding Time)

Kayo na ang magbigay ng pamagat sa litratong ito.  (Feel free to give this photo a title. )

Kabiyak:  May naamoy akong hindi maganda. (Something smells awful.)

May isa pa akong lahok para sa LP:  Mga Paboritong Litrato sa Dallas Arboretum

Isang maiinit na pagbati ng Maligayang Anibersaryo sa aking mga kapwa litratista sa Litratong Pinoy.   Mabuhay!