my layouts

In Love with Cameran

/ LivE / 9 Comments

For those who are wondering who Cameran is, that would be my camera (camera + Nikon = Cameran 😆 )

I am totally loving the manual mode now (though I think I’ll shift back to the aperture priority mode for regular daily shots. Just nice to know that I can tweak the way my camera works according to the effect I want to get). Am totally loving the tripod that hubby so generously bequeathed to me, too! (Am I blessed having him or am I blessed having him? 😀 )

So I played around with Part 2 of Week 2’s lesson of the 2peas Photography course. If you’ve been reading the past posts, the 1st week had to do with aperture (lens opening) priority, and this week had to do with shutter speed. Part 2 (you get to advance if you’re a diligent student, 😆 ) is setting the camera to Manual mode (why is this such a dreaded setting, I wonder?) and applying what you know about ISO, aperture, and shutter speed to tweak your shooting according to what you want to come up with.

We were actually supposed to choose one priority to tweak in the manual mode: either aperture or shutter speed (because once you set your ISO and one of the two other items, then the camera will adjust the 3rd item for you. Nice, right? 😉 )

I decided I wanted to try both! So I played.

Here are my shots in manual mode with the following settings: f/4.5 ~ focal length: 52mm ~ ISO: 800

{Click on images for larger views}

Manual Mode with Aperture set at f/4.5, focused on book in front:

Manual with Aperture Priority, Front Focus

Manual Mode with Aperture set at f/4.5, focused on books at the back:

Manual Mode with Aperture at f/4.5, Back Focused

Note: I’ve recently begun my goodreads (didn’t really get much up, unless you count my setting up an account and one book review, hahaha!) so I wanted a shot that I could use for my profile photo over there. I took 2 shots: in the first, I focused on the front part; in the second I focused on the back part. (In the second photo you can catch a sneak preview of the books that will appear on my to-read list. Come to think of it, these same ones will be featured in my to-cover-with-plastic-first list. 😆 )

Here is my one and only shot taken in manual mode, prioritizing shutter speed.

Shutter Speed at 6 seconds.

Shutter Speed Set at 6sec

I set the shutter speed at 6 seconds with the same ISO of 800 and a 32mm focal length. I used a tripod because of the ultra-low speed I wanted. (Had I held it in my hands, simply breathing out of my nose would have blurred everything in my photo. hahaha!) I placed it at a very slow speed because I wanted to blur the lights coming from Buzz Lightyear.

Considering that it took soooo long to set up and just a few seconds to take the shot, I was pretty pleased with the results (if I may say so ever so humbly). It was so funny because I had to tie Buzz Lightyear’s legs together with rubber band to keep the on-button activated. Then I had to figure out how to make Buzz stand on his legs at an angle (had to tie him with gold cords, which you’ll see in the background behind him) so that I could get the full effect of the lights. Of course all the other Buzzes and Woody and Zorb had to lean or sit at varying angles just so Buzz the LIGHTyear guy could really light up the place.

This is soooo fun! Play along with me, why don’t you? Then link me up to your photos so I can ooh and aah at them too! 😉

LOAD Day 17

Okay, I missed upload cutoff time by 2 seconds again. I’ve got to stop playing long enough to upload way before the last minute, don’t you think? 😆

So here’s my 17th layout for January and my 12th Daily December layout. Woohoo!!! In 14 days I’ll have a theme album completed, all thanks to LOAD’s kick in my butt! Thank you, Laine!!!

Gingerbread Gone

Journaling reads:

five minutes tops. and then they were gone. those gingerbread boys never stood a chance with you, my dear hungry boys.

CREDITS:

Jessica’s fab Daily December template, Katie Pertiet’s grid frame, Michelle Coleman’s topper, Emily Merritt’s and Heidi Larsen’s papers, Karel’s gingerbread bowl, Anna Aspnes’ ribbon (recolored), and Bren Taylor-Boone’s alpha.

Reality TV, anyone?

Did any one of you catch American Idol yesterday?

We had a ball of a time watching Reynaldo Lapuz. What a guy! He happens to be Filipino. Actually, from the very first moment when dh, my kids and I caught the teaser of the show on TV, we KNEW that this guy happened to be Filipino. We were rolling on the floor with laughter. What a great guy. How can anyone help not liking him, simple as he is?

Paula, too, cracked us up with her interpretative hand signals and her bopping along. Amazing.

Dh checked Youtube minutes after the show ended and, true enough, there he was! on Youtube. Within minutes! So funny.

Here, in case you missed it. (And if you didn’t, watch it again. It gets better each time).

What were your favorite parts? These were mine:

“Simon, you are a great person. (sniffle, sniffle, voice breaking, tears threatening to fall) You give chance to everyone to sing to the whole world. I’m thank you.”

“You are heaven’s chosen to give chance to any talent for free of charge!”

“Even they throw you negative words but there are many people who really like you, who really admire you. One of them is meeeeh. You are a great person, Sssssaaaahmon.”

“You’re my glory, Ssssssssaaaahmon.”

Seriously, though, laughter aside, you know what I really, really like about this guy? (Aside from the fact that he’s sooo Pinoy!) He is just so guileless, so good-natured, so happy. So Filipino, actually.

You know that part where Simon tells him no? He just goes and hugs Simon. I mean, how gooooood can a person’s heart be? Whereas 90-95% would walk out and say bad words and curse, here’s this guy, just so thankful and so appreciative of the chance to sing. Amazing.

On a deeper level, I guess it teaches us how to be grateful. In a world where we often forget that it’s the simplest things that matter.

Like I said, what a guy, huh?

(And mark my words, this guy is going to be a greater hit than William Hung ever was. 😆 )

Here’s another Pinay (slang for Filipina… for men the equivalent is Pinoy) who made it big on Ellen Degeneres’ show. What’s funny about it is that it shocks people that she has a good voice. Wasn’t shocked that she could sing well, actually, because there are tons of people in my homeland who can sing well (and there are tons who can’t either. But Filipinos in general love entertainment and performing). People on the street sing well. The man in the bus can break out in song and he’ll be in tune. Let a band play on the streets, and passersby will bob their heads and move their bodies in perfect rhythm. I guess what shocked me more was that she was actually discovered on youtube, and Ellen was able to give to her an opportunity that Charice Pempengco probably never even dared to dream of.

Me? I am in awe of her, simply because she can do what I can’t. 🙂

You absolutely hafta, gotta take this GREAT TEST!!!

for photographers, Photoshoppers, and generally anyone addicted to digital stuff (that would be you, and me, and you, and you too, and you … 😆 )

The objective of the test, called Fake or Foto, is for you to determine which of the photos in a set of 10 is computer generated and which is an actual photograph. Try it. You’ll be amazed.

And what’s great about the test is you can be very visual about it if you’re feeling tired and just need some entertainment. Or, if you’re intense, you may want to summon everything you know about photography, lighting, shadows, effects, and Photoshop to help you get a higher score. Either way, it’s fun.

Find the Fake or Foto test here.

Click on the link, take the test, then come back and post in the comments what your score was. I’d love to know!!!

Alrighty. Need to have dinner and then I’ll be back in a bit to post the link for Set 3 of Pasteleria.

Catch you later, alligator! 😉

Yawning away…

/ LivE / 6 Comments

but just wanted to share with you the second set (out of four) of Pasteleria!

{Click on image for larger view}

LivEdesigns Pasteleria Set 2

Here’s what you’ll be downloading (if you wish to!  😉 ) Soft Sun is a patterned orange paper; Caress is a solid lavender paper; and Teal Garden is the teal patterned paper you see on the right of the preview. (Credits for some commercial use items I used to make these freebies are in the TOU.) You’ll also be getting the stitched felt oval frame with embroidered flowers (not the adorable little puppy, which is a free stock photo taken by bjearwicke. My friend Jackie would approve of the preview photo… 😉 ).

I thought it would be much easier to put a photo in the frame if I included a layer mask for it, so what you’ll be getting is a psd layered file . Just put your photo in a layer between the frame and the mask, and do a CTRL-G (CTRL-ALT-G for full version Photoshop), resize to fit the frame,  and voila! (I’m assuming everyone who downloads is using a psd-compatible software program. If there’s anyone who needs a simple PNG file, drop me a line in the comments and I’ll send you the png file  (the frame alone, without the photo mask).

Here’s where you go to get the freebie.

Missed LOAD cut-off! C’est la vie!

I missed the LOAD cut-off for Day 16 by 6 measly minutes, but that’s okay. That doesn’t stop me from attempting to create 31 layouts by the end of this month.

Here’s my LOAD Day 16 layout, (Don’t) Say a Single Word.

Daily December 11, LOAD Day 16

If you think your eyes are getting blurry when you try to read the tag on the right side, you can be assured that you don’t need glasses. Sorry… I had to blur the personal information over there.  😕

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s fab Daily December template; Katie Pertiet’s grid frame; Michelle Coleman’s topper and sparkle flake; and Misty Mareda’s staples. Papers are by Michelle Coleman, Jackie Eckles, and Lori Barnhurst. Used an atomic cupcake action.

Wee Willie Winkie

is calling me to bed! Gotta go. I need to be up in exactly 3 hours as I’ve got a meeting to attend. Can’t be late, can’t be late, can’t be late (as the Mad Hatter would say).

(((((((hugs)))))) my sweeties!

PS. The next set of Pasteleria should be up tomorrow (or today… since tomorrow is today 😆 ) so do come visit soon!

Photography Phun!

/ LivE / 6 Comments

Yeah, that’s what Laine’s 12-Week Photography course at 2peas has been! Totally fun!

We’re into our 2nd week, and the lesson for this week is even more fun than it was last week! I guess I have to admit that while I am far from being a great photographer, I’m not a newbie at it either… but I’ve never participated in any photography course, ever, so this kind of learning-road is pretty new to me (adventure, yeah! the word for the month), and I’m having a load of fun with it! I love that there’s always a challenge with an exercise to do (must be echoes of the school-age kid in me 😀 ).

This week is all about shutter priority (and then getting to love the manual mode on your camera).

The challenge for this week was to take a photo of water from your kitchen sink flowing at a slow shutter speed and then at a high shutter speed. The idea is to see how a higher shutter speed freezes movement–sort of like we used to do when we were kids and we played “statue-dancing” (you know, where you dance like crazy and then freeze when the music stops. All those who move get taken out of the running. Bless the poor child who just has to sneeze at that point! 😆 ).

So to create that splashing of water, we had to have some object of our choice that would get in the way of the flowing water, enough for the water to splash about. I used an overturned carafe and, for some excitement and color (because my kitchen happens to be almost all black granite and stainless steel… very nice but very boring for photos 🙂 ), I added some glass pebbles. And I used my tripod (because if you take at a slow shutter speed and you move slightly, you’re going to get a lot of blurring… so even if my lens is VR-equipped, I didn’t want to take any chances. haha).

I got soooo excited with the challenge that I… uhm… didn’t read the instructions too well. 😳 We were supposed to set our ISO between 1000 and 1600, and I foolishly just shot away at the ISO my camera was set at when I last took a photo (400. Waaaay below the required minimum. Geez.)

One more proof that I make a bad student: we were supposed to take 1 photo at a slow shutter speed and then 1 photo at a high shutter speed, right. 1 + 1 = 2. I took three photos at different shutter speeds. Hmmmm. Maybe my school-age kids shouldn’t ever see my blog lest they get any ideas about not following Teacher to the letter. 😆

So here’s what I came up with:

{ Click on the images to get a clearer, amazing view of the differences! 😉 )

Lookie here!

Journaling below:

Water drops change: from an indistinguishable blur to “comet-like” drops with tails to distinct droplets floating in air. Wow!

Here’s another view that will show you the differences, even more amazing than the first one above. This shows you the difference in the water coming from the faucet:

Differences in Water Flow 2

And here are the individual photos:

With a shutter speed of 1/20 (this is the slowest shutter speed I used):

Shutter Speed 1/20

Shutter speed of 1/80 (this was the slowest speed that Laine had required at an ISO of 1000-1600):

Shutter Speed 1/80

Shutter speed of 1/200:

Shutter Speed of 1/200

Cool, huh? Try it and have fun!!!

My LOAD for Day 15

Yeah! Halfway through! Fifteen days into the new year with fifteen layouts to show for it!!! Woohoo!!! 8)

Santa’s Elves

Journaling reads:

you have got to be the most adorable santa’s elves i’ve ever seen in my entire life! how did i get to be so lucky?

CREDITS: Jessica’s fab DD template, Michelle Coleman’s topper, Katie Pertiet’s grid brush, Emily Merritt’s papers, Lisa Warren’s cardinal

Alright then! On to working on the next set of Pasteleria. I’ll be back in a few! 😉

Yippee!!! (First Freebie for 2008!)

/ LivE / 8 Comments

Woohoo, turning cartwheels here! I finally have something to share with you, my sweeties!

I am both excited and a bit uncertain about this kit that I’m doing, because it’s a bit of a departure from the colors I normally play with.

I have to admit: I am not much of a pastel person. Way back in the 80s (yeah, that time of mullet hairstyles, eek!), there was this curious book that supposedly would tell you which colors best suited you, based on your skin color. Does anyone recall that?

They divided the fashion color palette into seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. If I remember right (caveat: I don’t always remember right 😆 ), the Winter color scheme was supposed to be best for those with very fair skin and blonde hair, blue eyes, that sort of thing; and the colors were icy blue, icy green, shimmery sorts of colors. I remember Winter because one of my sisters qualified as that. She was born with blonde hair, and she recalls worrying–when she was little–that she was adopted, because the rest of us were all born with dark brown hair… that is, until my brother was born 4 years after and he was blonde too. 😆

Oh… they’ve lost the blond and are now dark haired like the rest of us. Go figure. 😯

Anyway, I remember being a Fall, and that suited me just fine as I’ve always been partial to oranges, browns, beiges, creams, neutrals (except for that brief phase in university when I wore nothing but black and white… thankfully, that was brief. >teehee< ).

This whole off-tangent story of mine is meant to explain why I am not really a pastel person. I like seeing them; they look absolutely fresh and soft, but I don’t feel like I know them, know what I mean? (Okay, I’m strange: I’m talking like colors were people. 😀 )

Buuuuut. It’s nice to stretch one’s wings and discover new horizons. After all, my word for January is ADVENTURE. (Have you thought of your word for the month / year yet?) And this certainly qualifies as an adventure for me!

Let me know what you think about this freeb, please? (Be honest. But be nice. 😆 )

So here’s the first set of the first freebie for 2008! (ha! alliteration there!)

{Click on image for larger view}

LivEdesigns Pasteleria Set 1

I’ve called the set Pasteleria, which is Spanish for a bakeshop or a place where you get pastries and sweet stuff (pastel + sweet = pasteleria in my twisted little mind, hahaha!) You can snag Set 1 here!

What you’ll be downloading is three papers, all slightly textured: LimeLight has a scrolly thing on its corners, Baby’s Breath has scratchy wisps of white on its edges, and Lullaby has stars and a moon surrounding it. There’s also a ribbon with a heart charm, which you can resize as you wish. Thanks to atomic cupcake, CindyDoerksen, and scrapNtag for some commercial-use items I used to make this!

By the way, pastels were supposed to be Spring (on the 80s fashion palette). If I remember right. 😉

Thank you in advance for the love you leave and please do take the time to let me know what you think (so that I know if I should quit this pastel adventure and go a different route or not…  hahaha!)

And it’s back to the DDs, folks!

After a brief and very wonderful playtime spent making a layout that belongs in my generic album (which I call Viewpoint… I’ll try to get a photo of it and upload it here), I’m back to making Daily December layouts with Jessica’s fab template!

Here’s my Daily December No. 9 (“The Gift of Christmas”) and LOAD Day 14.

The Gift of Christmas (Daily December 9)

Journaling reads:

One night centuries ago, a Child was born, God’s most precious Gift to the world. Thirty-three years later, that Child would give His life so that we could share in His forever. I hope that this inspires you, my dearest son, to keep giving and sharing, especially with those who have less than you, whether you are 5 or 33 or 105 years old.

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s fab Daily December template *You won’t believe how many people love this template!* plus Katie Pertiet’s grid brush, Michelle Coleman’s Topper & Christmas papers from her Merry Little Christmas kit (recolored);  Nancie Rowe Janitz’s stamps (from her contribution to the Stand Up & Scrap Mega Kit (recolored all to fit Christmas theme); Angela Barton’s postage stamp, also from her contribution to the Stand Up & Scrap Mega Kit; and the world embellie, I made using these items: Michelle Coleman’s painted heart, Shabby Miss Jenn’s knotted ribbon (recolored), and Lisa Warren’s mini globe (Lisa’s and SMJenn’s items were also from the SU&S mega kit). Also used John’s Photoblast actions on the the photo of the children below and the one of my son with his two friends. (John has the most fab, user-friendly actions; if you use Photoshop full version or Elements and you don’t have these yet, you should check them out here! 😀 )

I was so glad that the preschool that my son attends arranged a get-together last December with a large group of less privileged children, and in so doing, they were able to give my son and his schoolmates the opportunity to really know the joy of giving and sharing time, laughter, and gifts. This joy which comes from a spirit of generosity is one which I hope my son will always know, no matter how old he becomes.

Other stuff I’ve been up to

Have you signed up for the 12-Week Photography lesson at 2peas yet? It’s so much fun to play, whether you already know the basics or not. (ha! I love any excuse to play. My mental age is probably 7. 😆 )

This week’s lesson lets you play around with the shutter priority mode in your camera. If you’re using a point-and-shoot type of camera, the equivalent would be playing around with the different auto modes, sports setting plus whatever else you want to play around with to see the differences.

And it’s a two-part lesson (not supposed to peek at Part 2 without doing Part 1), how fun is that! 😀 If you haven’t checked out the 2peas course yet, do! It’s really fun. (And you’re welcome, Jeanne. Love ya).

I’m going to check the kitchen sink photos I took and, if they’re not too embarrassing, I’m going to be back in a bit to post them here!

More adventure stories later! (((hugs)))

Some funnies

/ LivE / 4 Comments

Decided to take a break from my Daily December album pages and make a different kind of LOAD entry for today.

I had wanted to use this photo of the lighthouse I took last year while we were vacationing in KK. I have also been wanting to use a photo of my hubby in the yacht, simply because I love the look on his face: absolute contentment, totally relaxed, free! Precious. Wish the bay was closer to the city if only for this reason.

Got to get both of my “wants” onto a single layout with this. That makes me happy. 😀 Also, I realize that the number of LOs I make featuring my hubby pale in comparison to the amount of LOs that my kids star in… but aside from the fact that he’s one and they’re five (and that fact automatically ups the scale in their favor–imagine the proportion: 1 is to 5), I also have a hard time journaling on LOs for him because that part of me is very private, treasured, even sacred if I may say so… but for this one, funnily enough, the journaling spilled out all in one go, like it was just waiting for me to put it down in the letters of the alphabet. Guess it was really meant to be made, huh?

My Harbor

Journaling reads:

you are my harbor,

my lifeboat, my anchor,

my shelter in any storm.

you are my north star,

the wind in my sails,

my lighthouse, my safe shore.

you are my ocean of adventure,

my blue skies, my gentle waves.

you are my horizon

where heaven and earth meet

in a long, tight embrace.

you are my one, my only,

my forever, my always.

CREDITS:

Katie Pertiet’s frame; Anna Aspnes’ paper & mat (recolored); Eve Recinella’s photo prong & deco star; Amy Cheeseman’s rubon; Nancie Rowe Janitz’ canvas texture, atomic cupcake action used on title, and LivEdesigns ***hey that’s me!*** grunge overlay & compass

Somefin funny happened…

Today:

My 5-year-old J and I had just come home from school and I commented how I had a terrible headache. (Not sure if it was caused by the extra-bright glare of the sun or the sunglasses I wore to shield my eyes… all I know is that it certainly had something to do with my “new” eyes).

My son said to me, “Mom, you should go to the doctor maybe.”

I said, “Yeah. Maybe.”

He said, “Don’t worry, I’ll go with you.”

A pause.

Then: “Maybe I’ll just stay home and wait for you. I don’t like the prickin’ they do at the doctor.”

😆

Last Saturday:

Over dinner last Saturday, hubby and I were talking about having lunch the next day at the new restaurant we opened. My 2nd son, who loves all things food and who can whip up real yummy stuff in the kitchen from nothing, opened his eyes wide in excitement. He asked, “Oh! Are we all having lunch there tomorrow?”

Naughty parents that we are, we decided to tease him.

Hubby said, “No, not we. Just your mom and me.”

I said, “That’s right. We’re having a daaaaaate!”

My son grew quiet, then said to everyone at table, “Just one little second, may I be excused?” and left before any of us could answer. We could hear him moving around in his room, and then he came back with some money, which he gave to me.

I said, “What’s this?”

He said, “Uh, that’s the change for the pizza I ordered for my friends when they came over yesterday. That way you can give me the amount that I paid and you already have the change.” (I had asked him to pay for it first, and told him I would pay him back).

I said, “Oh. Okay. But you didn’t have to give it me right now. What do you need the money for right now?” and gave him that questioning look that parents give their kids when they know something more lies behind the surface.

He looked sheepishly at us, and said: “Table for one?”

😆

What he meant was that he would go to the restaurant and pay for his own dinner, since we weren’t taking him. 😆 That guy cracks me up. Of course hubby and I broke out in loud laughter and told him we were just teasing him. Just as he was teasing us with his “table for one” line. That was really funny to me.

Yeah. We are certified crazies in our home.

😆

Alrighty then! More work to do! Catch you later!

(((hugs)))

PS. Sssh. I’m trying not to remind you that you should be getting freebs soon, but that’s exactly what I’m about to work on! 😉

Missed the train…

/ LivE / 3 Comments

by about 3 seconds. THREE. seconds.

So my LOAD layout didn’t quite make it to Day 12. 😳

But that’s okay. Today is a Sunday in my part of the world. And Sundays have always been family days. I normally work on my LOAD submissions in the last 6 hours before submission deadline (hehe… procrastination habits die hard), but this morning I couldn’t, because there was Mass to attend and then we had lunch out, and then a couple of other must-do stuff that we postponed (like getting photos taken for our passports and visas… ya hear me, GFs??? This is for you-know-what happening on you-know-where in June!!! 😛 )

Bottom-line is… Sundays are family days. And so I had to make a choice between uploading my LO for the contest or putting family first. That was a no-brainer. (Not that I didn’t wince and kick myself for not working on the LOAD Day 12 sooner, but there were no second-thoughts as to which I would give up today).

So anyway, here’s my LOAD for Day 12. And another one should be coming up soon for Day 13. ha. Two LOADS in one day. That should be a good way to repair my not meeting the Day 12 deadline.

Christmas in our Home

Journaling reads:

(Subheading in white): our home is decked with boughs of holly, falalalala lalala la

(Text): i love the extra warmth and coziness our home exudes at christmastime

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s Daily December template, Katie Pertiet’s Grid Brush, Michelle Coleman’s Topper plus Miriam Lima’s papers, Lisa Warren’s cardinal (recolored and applied atomic cupcake actions on this one), Leora Sanford’s star border, Emily Merritt’s buttons (some recolored), Atomic Cupcake actions

More Playing Around with Photos

Okay, I was tickled pink by the feeling of doing “assignments”for the 2Peas 12-Week Photography Effect (throwback to my grade school days when I loved homework… didn’t I say I was an alien? 😆 ), so I did another take on the Aperture challenge.

Some things I did differently this time:

1.  I didn’t attach my SB800 external flash (if you’re playing around with aperture settings and you want to create the bokeh effect, the flash really minimizes the effect a lot. Which just means that you’ll see a lot less difference when playing around with your aperture settings in a flash-lit setup). Ergo, best to shoot in a setup that uses available light.

2. I also greatly decreased the distance between my lens and the subject I was taking (in this case a small vase of flowers): again, the bokeh effect is greatly enhanced by this simple act of moving closer. You also end up with a much wider range of f/stop values (but of course, you’re limited to the end-limits that your particular lens allows).

3. Knowing that I would not print out these photos, I changed my ISO setting to 800 (normally I set mine at 200 or, in darker conditions where I want to use available light, at 400). What this simply means is that there is much less blurring that can occur with a higher ISO setting because it allows you to get the same exposure setting with a much faster shutter speed. (Shooting at low aperture values slows down shutter speed; that is why there is a greater chance for blurring to occur… unless you prop your camera on a tripod, which I –of course– failed to use this time. 😛 ) Higher ISO’s, though, also mean more chance of your photos showing up as grainy if you’re printing them out. For viewing on the web, thankfully, the graininess is practically nil.

Things I kept the same:

Simple: My Nikon D40x and my Nikkor 18-200mm AF-S lens.

Here are the shots I took today (if you look at the wooden slats and the trees, you’ll see a more pronounced difference, compared to my shots of the bikers yesterday):

1. At f/4.6

Flowers in a Vase f/4.6

2. At f/8

Flowers in a Vase f/8

3. At f/32

Flowers in a Vase f/32

Cool, right? Aperture setting is a wonderful thing! (It’s the setting that I keep my camera on all the time, actually. That’s how much I love it!)

Okay, that’s enough playing around on my blog for today! I really need to get to work on my freebs for you, or I’ll be breaking one of my New Year’s resolutions too early in the game. 🙂

Freebs coming soon! (Give me 24 hours). Hang tight! 😀

Loading up on fun…

/ LivE / 5 Comments

Got my LOAD for Day 11 done, so that I can work uninterruptedly on a freeb for you, my sweeties!

But first, while I get my creative muse all warmed up, let’s sit and chat a while, why don’t we?

LOAD Day 11 & Daily December Day 7

Little Boys in the Big School

Journaling reads:

you were so excited to visit your big brother’s school. you proudly declared to everyone you met: “we’re the little brothers of A!”

CREDITS:

Jessica’s fab Daily December template, Michelle Coleman’s Topper, Katie Pertiet’s Grid Brush PLUS Mindy Terasawa’s Groovy Boy Paper, Ribbon (recolored), Tab (recolored); Amber Clegg’s Postmarked Stamp (Explore); Sara Carling’s Aero Leather Tag & Pog

I now have 7 pages in my Daily December album (and to me, that’s an accomplishment, because note that it is now January… if not for the push that joining LOAD gave me, I would probably have completed my Daily December… uhhh… perhaps this coming December 2008. 😆 ) I’m hoping by the end of January I would’ve completed my Daily December album too! (Hey, dreaming is free! 😀 )

Playing Around with Photos

Remember a few posts ago (See Adventure: Word for the Month), I was talking about going for dinner at a restaurant with my hubby and our good friends Jun and Abby?

This was actually a delayed get-together for New Year’s, and a celebration of the completion of the article I wrote for a feature on Jun and Abby for a glossy magazine which features the who’s who in Asian society. It was the first time that Jun agreed to be featured at length in a magazine, and he had a whole set of conditions, one of which was that I do his write-up! Now how cool was that! 😉

On the other hand, it was extremely pressuring too–I mean, when someone believes in you that much, it’s scarier to slip on the tightrope, right? Even if you happened to slip because your foot was itchy, know what I mean? So anyway, the other thing that made it really difficult for me to complete the article (aside from my frustrating habit of self-editing) was the fact that the story of Jun and Abby is soooo rich, so wonderful to tell, so I had a really hard time trying to meet the 5000 character limit (and that was already increased from the original 4000).

But I was happy when I clicked SEND (roughly 24 hours after I had my eye surgery) and my article made its way to the mag editor’s inbox. I furnished a copy to Jun too. The very next morning, I received a basket of the most delicious rice cakes with coconut cream sauce, and a gold box filled with homemade polvoron (the best way I can describe this is milk-sugar powdery “cookies”)… and this note:

w-note.jpg

I have known Jun since I was 13 years old, and this is the first time I actually got a handwritten note from him. 😆

I must also qualify that I could never have written the article on my own: it was actually the product of a lot of prayer and divine grace. 🙂

So where does the subheading of this post “Playing Around with Photos” come in?

Well… I mentioned that hubby and I were a bit early for the dinner we were having with Jun & Abby, so we walked around, checking out the new mall… I wanted to take photos, but I had to settle for using my cellphone camera because I (kick self, kick self) foolishly resisted the urge to take Cameran along.

When I downloaded the photos, I was pretty shocked. Wait a minute, these aren’t too bad, considering I took them with a cellphone and with pure available light (which was actually not that available, as the skies were dark! 😆 )

Chateau 1771

This is the restaurant where we had dinner. The man on the right was using his cellphone for the right intention, while I was using mine to take photos. Crazy.

Chateau Take 2

We just opened this restaurant last December in the new mall (5th phase of a larger mall). One of the reasons Chateau is totally dear to our hearts is because when my hubby and I got married, we held our reception in the same restaurant (although it was in a different location then).

Since I already embarrassed my husband enough by taking photos >teeheehee< I decided to go all the way! I totally could not resist the play of lines and lights in the entire place!  Here’s more proof:

Don’t these lines remind you of the outline of a house?

I am totally tickled that this shot has been taken by a cellphone camera. C.E.L.L.P.H.O.N.E. camera. Amazing. I had no idea it would come out looking like this (so obvious that I haven’t been using the camera function on my cellphone, huh? 😆 )

The walkway that leads from the driveway and into the rest of the amazing complex (restaurant is on the left side of the photo) reminded me of the Getty Museum walkway with fountains. The long blocks in the middle are the beginnings of fountains (did I mention that the mall is new? So there’s still a lot that’s being done but it’s already looking awesome, even at this early stage).

The Walkway

More Photo Play

Over at 2peasinabucket, there’s a great photography course (free! couldn’t get better than that! 😀 ) given by Joanna Bolick, which promises 12 weeks to better photos. I thought it might be fun to try out their challenges. The one for this week involves using your camera in the Aperture priority mode (I loooove aperture priority mode: that’s the mode that I shoot in about 98% of the time. I only change when I need to do macros… so far). 🙂

The exercise involved shooting something, anything, using the lowest aperture setting that your lens has, then somewhere midway, then at the highest setting. Comparing the photos would reveal the change in the bokeh (that blurry look behind the subject that you’ve focused on).

I know that it would’ve been better if I used a lens more adapted to portrait photography (and therefore with a higher range of f/stop values–or aperture size, or quite simply, how wide the lens opens), but I was too lazy to change lenses. I use a Nikkor 18-200mm AF-S lens and love the range it affords me, so actually, I’ve never taken it off to change to another lens since I put it on. 😆

The downside of my laziness to change lenses is this: the lowest aperture setting I could get was a 4.5, and the highest was a 16. I should maybe try with a different lens to get a more dramatic look, but for now, I’m okay with what I got (Geez. Lazy!)

Here’s what I took (the change is most obvious if you look at the sofa and the pillows behind the bikers in each photo)

At f/ 4.5 :

Bikers f/4.5

At f/8 :

Bikers f/8

At f/16:

Bikers at f/16

I would have preferred to shoot outside in daylight, but it’s been raining (strange, for this time of the year), so the skies have been dark and cloudy (not nicely overcast, which would have been more preferable, really). Oh well.

Alrighty then, can you believe playing around has cost me almost all the daylight today? Gotta get working on those freebies for you!

Catch you later! (((((hugs))))))

Running After Time

/ LivE / 3 Comments

There’s so much I want to do, and not enough time in a day to do it all! How many of you have felt this way? How do you handle it? Is there some secret you can share with me?

LOAD Day 10 & Daily December No. 6

Got this done this morning.

One of the lovely advantages of having 5 sons is that as they grow older, they eventually take over the task of getting the Christmas decor up, so that I am free to sit and watch them with a smile on my face, wondering how I got so lucky to have such great guys (and related to me, too! 😆 )

Tree Trimmers

Journaling reads:

last year there were three; now there are four of you working together to put up the tree and trim it. next year j will be old enough to join the fun as well. each christmas, year after year, i can just sit and watch you for hours, filled with quiet pride and gratitude. i am so lucky to have such great tree trimmers!

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s Daily December template (altered); Michelle Coleman’s Topper & rivet (recolored); Katie Pertiet’s Grid Brush, HolidayOrnaments Brush, PostmarkedHolidays Brush, Emily Merritt’s Jolly Jingle Sparkles (recolored), Miriam Lima’s HolidayMagic paper, Atomic Cupcake actions

Word for the Month

Over at her blog, my dear friend Jessica mentioned Ali Edwards’ Word for the Year (another amazing lady there!)… with a twist: Jess has decided she wanted a Word for a Month instead. Given my own love for words, I totally agree with her! (Also, nice to have 12 words to live by instead of just one for the year! 🙂 )

I decided my word for January would be ADVENTURE.

noun: an undertaking; an unusual or exciting experience

verb, tr.: to venture upon; undertake or try

verb, intr.: to take a risk in the hope of a favorable outcome; dare

synonyms: (n)risky venture, escapade; (v) take a risk, take a chance / related words: (n) project, task, undertaking, labor; (v) chance, attempt, try, seek

I think this is a great word to start the year off with: I’ve always loved adventures, whether of the real kind (the kind that took me to places as a kid) or the vicarious kind (the kind that I take now that I’m older, which normally I gather from museum trips, reading books and magazines, surfing the net, and playing around).

I also like that the related words (project, task, undertaking, labor) are so closely related to WORK. I have such a great respect for the dignity of work. I think working to your best capacities and abilities, in the simplest thing (sure, even in tasks as simple as cleaning your bathroom or picking up that piece of tissue lying on the floor) and offering it up to our Lord, is one of the best prayers and one of the best ways to give back glory to Him who has given us all we have.

Who knows what adventures lay ahead this year? Just thinking about it is so exciting! Here are a few that come to mind:

Adventures in Design: I love learning. I love the adventure of discovery, of finding out new things, of learning something new everyday. I guess that’s why I love designing so much: every kit is an adventure into the unknown! I see something in my mind and I try to create it digitally. When the vision and what I see on my monitor match each other, it’s such a WOW moment for me that I can’t wait to share it with all my friends! (hence the freebies 😀 ) I want to learn a lot more and experiment a lot more with Photoshop and designing. I need to open those new/old software CDs that have sat in my drawer (was once too terrified to attempt them, am more adventurous now), among them: CS3 and Xarax.

Every class with Jess is an adventure: I am so looking forward to our next adventure in March, which is when our Digi: In Deep course will begin its maiden journey.

Doing something I would not normally do: take a risk = adventure. I am normally what my people would call segurista. One who does not like taking wild chances; one who finds much sense in the saying, “better safe than sorry.” But nothing big has been accomplished by staying on safe ground when you could be sailing the high seas (with WISDOM, of course). So I think it’s a good time to attempt to go back to those days of abandoning fears and just jumping in with both eyes closed and fingers crossed (uhhh. I really think my Lasik adventure last Monday is a good case in point). 😆

Another case in point:

I am normally a shy person (I kid you not; even if it may seem unlikely. 😆 ) When I see friends I haven’t seen in ages, I vacillate between saying hello and re-introducing myself and staying away so that I don’t subject that person to a blast from the past that they may or may not welcome.

Last night, as hubby and I were walking (killing time while waiting for our dear friends Jun and Abby to arrive–we were having dinner together), I happened to see a guy who was very good friend of mine back when we were in university… but we happened to lose touch over the years (I distinctly remember the exact time we last spoke: it was when he invited me to his wedding to this sweet girl, who just happened to be a Philippine actress… and I do get really shy [almost reticent] around showbiz personalities, so I stayed away. And we lost touch after). Anyway, hubby said to me, “Well, why don’t you go over there and say hi?” So, very uncharacteristically, I walked up to A., said hello using the petname we in our group of friends used to call him back then, briefly saw a look of non-recognition pass in his eyes, and right after I gave my name. My maiden name, of course (we lost touch even before I got married). And with the mention of my name, there was recognition. It was quite funny, actually: watching his eyes was like watching the aperture opening of a camera, first small then becoming larger and larger. He said “Hiiiiiiii!!!!” and turned to the lady friend he was with, introduced me, and said “We’ve known each other since she was like ten years old!” I said “Yeah, we go waaaay back.” We exchanged cellphone numbers, and voila!

Fun. Always good to reconnect.

And as if that wasn’t enough: after dinner, on the way to our cars, Jun, Abby, hubby and I were walking and we chanced upon J.M., who was overseeing the opening of the Paul Smith store at this new mall. He said hello to Jun and Abby, and when Jun turned to introduce me and hubby, he looked at me and said “Hey, I know you!” to which I answered, “yup, we were at the beach together years back, with C., T. and L.”

Another blast from the past. That makes two in one night!

And then… not five minutes after… as we were standing by the driveway of the center of the mall, the car in front of us drove up, and who was about to get into it? Another friend from college days, now married to another showbiz personality. I had briefly spoken with him at the launch of the Our Father book, and reintroduced myself then… (one of those rare bold moments I had, but I was extraordinarily courageous then… after all, that was OUR launch. haha!). Anyway, he and his sweet wife were about to get into the car, and I said hello. And this time, I didn’t have to reintroduce myself!

And that, folks, completes Round Three. Three amazing blasts from the pasts. Hey, I should’ve been in Vegas. Maybe the slot machines would’ve made me rich tonight, given the three hits at adventure I got in just one night! 😆

Connections. We are all connected to each other in various ways. I think it’s amazing when events like this happen one after the other; makes you really consider what a small, small world this is.

Capturing images is an adventure: I want to play a lot with my camera and learn a lot more about what I can do with it. I drive my hubby crazy when I attempt to lug my Lowepro slingback wherever I go. The few times I am successful at resisting the urge to pick it up before I go out the front door, I end up regretting it (“Oh wow, do you see the lines that those eaves make? Geez! Wish I had my camera with me! See the pattern of the leaves’ shadows on the pavement! Geez! Wish I could take that, if I had my camera with me!” ). Yesterday, of course, was one of the few times I left Cameran at home (and regretted it), and so I was demoted to taking photos of lines and lights that amazed me with my cellular phone. Oh, the humiliation! 😆 But, it was the best I could do at the moment!

Speaking of Photography…

Have you seen this take of Annie Leibovitz’ shoot with the Queen of England? I found it very interesting, mostly because it IS the famed Annie Leibovitz, amazing woman photographer, best known for her photo of a very pregnant Demi Moore in her birthday suit on the cover of Vanity Fair way back. Another reason for my interest: it took me back to the time when I was in the fifth grade and knew all the trivia there was to know about the Royal Family (this coincided with the engagement of then-Lady Diana to Prince Charles, and with my first attempt at a short hairstyle a la Diana… eeeeuw! how embarrassing! 😆 )

Oh… have I introduced you to the royal fam? That’s Anne, Charles, The Queen, Prince Philip, Andrew, and the Queen Mum… and me, in front, with my very proper, English, royal smile. (Long hair tied at the back will tell you this was way back in ’97)

Meet the Royal Family

Okay… so maybe the photo was taken at Madame Tussaud’s. Makes for some great laughs though, doesn’t it? 😆

Hey, you think my friend Veevs, royal relation to this family, would approve?

😆

Enough playing around for now… I’m off to attempt some freebies! woohoo!

See you in a bit, my sweeties! (((hugs)))

Finally, here it is!

/ LivE / 13 Comments

the original version of the shutters page plopper using Jason Gaylor’s awesome brushes!!! For those who downloaded the version I released earlier, this one has different brushwork AND it also has a slightly different, more sunshiny hue to it.

Again, many thanks to Adam Lambert-Gorwyn for his windows photo, and Jason Gaylor for giving me the go-signal to release the plopper using his brushes!

Here’s the preview (I’ve updated the photo of my dear friends, the mother-and-daughter team who were the inspiration behind this creation). Hey, Jackie, does this photo now beat the other preview in terms of cuteness? 😆

{Click on image for larger view}

LivEdesigns Shutters Plopper JGVersion Preview

Download this plopper version here.

Of DDs and LOADs

Don’t you love acronyms? teeheehee.

I missed out on posting my latest LOADs and DDs, so here they are.

Daily December No. 3 & LOAD Day 5:

I wanted to do a page that shows the culture of my country, because Christmas is such a huge event in this part of the world. (Christmas carols begin playing in September–can you imagine the pressure? 😆 –and the food! the glorious food that abounds! Every home, big and small, mansion and hut, has happy lights. We are a happy people, what can I say? 🙂

The Parol’s Light {Christmas Star - Philippine-Style}

Journaling reads:

i love it when the parols begin to hang from trees and eaves. to me, nothing more warmly signals the advent of this season of joy and peace as the light shining from this truly filipino symbol of the star that shone above the manger on that first christmas night.

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s lovely Daily December template PLUS Katie Pertiet’s Grid Brush, Michelle Coleman’s Topper, Monika69 – Christmas paper1, pillowgirl/E.Blust – RichXmas paper (both blended); photo of nativity scene: www.seasite.niu.edu; Flickr: Large Lit parol photo; nbk – grungy paper

LOAD Day 6:

Lately I’ve been getting into wanting to do full-photo-bleed layouts. This is what I came up with. This is my MIL. Pretty gorgeous for one who is beyond 70 years, eh?

Mama

Journaling (Quote) reads:

Beauty… when you look into a woman’s eyes and see what’s in her heart. ~ Nate Dircks

CREDITS: Jason Gaylor’s Brushes

Daily December Day 4 & LOAD Day 7:

Cool Weather = Cool Dude

Journaling Reads:

you said:

mom, can you gel my hair? i’m going to wear my jacket and my shades, and when my classmates see me, they’re going to say, wow, you’re sooo cool!

i said:

sure, honey, let’s do that. but you know what? it’s not your hair nor your jacket nor your shades that make you cool.

you’re cool because you’re a good boy. that’s what makes you cool, my little dude.

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s fab DailyDecember Template PLUS Katie Pertiet’s Grid Brush & Stitched Chip Strip; Michelle Coleman’s Topper; the Little Dreamer Designs Jolly Jingle Collaborative Kit, from which I used Michelle’s and Misty Mareda’s papers, Jackie Eckles’ star, Emily Merritt’s sparkles (recolored), Lori Barnhurst’s brad fibers

Daily December Day 5 & LOAD Day 8:

Rudolph Minus the Nose

Journaling reads:

checking out the decor in our neighborhood:

hey, mom, where’s rudolph’s red nose?

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague’s wonderful Daily December template, Katie Pertiet’s Grid Brush, Michelle Coleman’s Topper PLUS Michelle Coleman’s Merry Little Christmas Kit items (papers & flower) and Reindeer Brush by me! 🙂

Whew! All caught up with posting my layouts this January so far! 🙂

Lookie! What a surprise!

I am so delighted! There have been 469 downloads of the Shutters Plopper (the one I released a few days ago) from the last time I checked. Will those who have used it allow me to post their layouts on my blog? Do leave me a note if you don’t allow me… silence means YES! 😆 (But if you leave me a line and say, yes, please do, I’d be even more delighted!)

Also, look what I just found on the web today? SLKozul used part of my Jolly Hollydays kit to make a birth announcement for her friends!

SLKozul uses Jolly Hollydays

She did a great job, didn’t she?

So many stories, so wish to share!

There are so many stories that I wish to share, but I have to stop myself before my post runs page after page after page! I’ll be back soon, though!

Thank you so much, my dearest friends, all of you who offered prayers, well wishes, and words of advice for my Lasik operation. More stories about that soon!

In the meantime, need to work on my LOAD for Day 9 … it gets difficult as I have to put my alien act to rest for a few days (meaning, I can’t stay up till 4AM as the eyes give up and force me to lie down. Those of you who’ve worn contacts: you know how it is when you’ve kept them on for too long, and your eyes feel dry and they sting a bit? That’s how my eyes feel after a while, except this time, I can’t remove the lenses and go aaaaahhhhh! The only recourse is to sleep.

But I figure… that’s fine. Give or take a month, and I’ll be back to burning the midnight oil! 😆

Have a happy day, my sweeties! (((hugs)))

Busy Busy Busy Bee

/ LivE / 5 Comments

Wow! This has been a really full day!

I had to attend to real life stuff–cleaning out storage rooms, entertaining guests, taking care of nephew and nieces who came over to play with their cousins (my boys), and other blah blah blah stuff that would probably bore you to tears so I won’t even mention it. Regular stuff that, now and then, requires us to pull ourselves away from our beloved compy, difficult though it may be. 😆

BUT! Two interesting things, before I go back to my other deadlines.

Layout Of the Day Number 4

Am so delighted that I was finally able to finish my second Daily December page layout. Thank you, LOAD, for that proverbial kick in the butt that I needed. I don’t think I would’ve been able to finish this without the challenge to spur me on and push me down the path that didn’t have the Procrastination Street sign on it. 🙂

Thank you also, my dear Noel, for nudging me to post my LOAD layout here already… I would’ve forgotten to post it here if not for your comment! {I can almost hear you saying: What would you do without me? 😆 }

So here’s my Daily December 2, my LOAD No. 4:

Journaling reads:

ah yes, how absolutely wonderful it is to wake up to the aroma of coffee brewing on these cool christmas mornings. the precious bonding moments in between sips bring far greater warmth to the heart than the heat that rises from our mugs.

CREDITS:

Jessica Sprague – Daily December Template + Katie Pertiet’s Topper, Mindy Armour’s Christmas papers, and Mindy Terasawa’s Merry & Bright Accent overlay (recolored slightly).

I am totally dependent on my Solis coffee making machine. I love that it cleans itself each time you turn it on and then again when you turn it off (loooove that I don’t have to clean it manually!!!). I love that you have the option to put in ground coffee or pour in beans (it has a built-in grinder that grinds just enough beans for a cup right before it starts brewing–I never use the ground coffee options as I prefer freshly ground beans). I love that it has a hotplate above where I can keep little espresso cups warm, so that I don’t have to drink hot coffee from a cold cup. I love that I can make myself a regular brew, an espresso, or a capuccino at the touch of a button.

Another thing I love are the two cups that my dear hubby got for us some Christmases ago. We inevitably end up teasing each other about which cup should belong to whom. I of course lay claim to the Nice with the halo and always assign the Naughty with the horns to my hubby. He is convinced it should be the other way around. In the interest of keeping peace, I will allow him his conviction. After all, being naughty adds a hint of spice to my personality, doesn’t it? (Ha! Though seriously, he really is much nicer than I am, and I probably am much naughtier than he is). 😉

I’m hoping that at the end of LOAD I would also have completed the Daily December album (and it will be my first theme album ever! Woohoo!)

I up and ran, I rocked, and I’m going to dig in deep!

With Jessica’s newest advanced course, Digi: In Deep, coming in March! Am so looking forward to this, because I looooove taking journeys with Jessica and my playground family. One always comes out of the class gaining sooooo much more than one could have dreamed possible. (Ask any of my playground sisters and they will easily attest to this).

I am also very excited about the upcoming Up & Running course (on its third run) that will be offered in January for digital scrapbooking beginners, and the advanced Now We’re Rockin’ course (on its second run) that will be offered in February. Read more about it in Jessica’s blog and on our playground! And for my friends hopping over here who have not taken either or both of those classes, take note of the sign-up period, set reminders on your calendars, join the throngs waiting for sign-up day, and come join us! It’s a journey you will take that will change your life in more ways than you can ever imagine–I kid you not. Everyone on our playground will attest to this.

Jason Gaylor rocks!

Just heard from Jason and he has allowed me to use his brushes for the shutters plopper that I created. So if you aren’t sick of the plopper yet, head on over for the original version (I’m thinking of giving it in a different shade so that it won’t be too much like the one you downloaded yesterday). That is, unless you’re sick of the plopper already? 😆

Thank you, Jason. You rock.

Resolutions, resolutions

New year, new resolutions.

In the past couple of years, I have not really attached importance to making resolutions on New Year’s Day, since I make resolutions daily. I believe in making daily resolutions because they’re easier to remember on a daily basis (have a little notebook to remind me throughout the day). Daily resolutions also make it easier for me to check my progress (did I fulfill them or did I fail today?), and it’s less of a letdown when I fall short of achieving them (hey, didn’t do too well on this one today; I’ll try again tomorrow).

But this year, I decided to experiment with having BOTH: New Year’s Resolutions and Daily Resolutions, for no other reason than to spice things up a bit (and also… because I may have masochistic tendencies that push me to keep loading my plate, even when it’s already full, if you know what I mean. 😆 )

Here are my New Year’s Resolutions:

1. Make a layout a day (LOAD has inspired me to do this. I may not succeed at it everyday, but I’d like to think that it’s the effort is what counts 😛 )

2. Lose 10-20 pounds. (I need to unload all that holiday sweetness that stayed a minute on my lips and took up residence forever on my hips). By the way… my sisters just reminded me–trust me to forget this–that my skipping meals (oops) was actually the worst thing I could do in an effort to lose weight. Apparently, when you skip a meal, your body goes into starvation mode; it says “woops, we don’t know when she’s going to shovel food into her mouth next, so let’s store all the fat we can to help her survive.” So what happens is, instead of burning calories, your body actually stores your fat to keep you warm and comfy even when you’re starving… which you are, only because you’re skipping meals.

Notice how I’m using “your body, your stored fats”… could it be an attempt for me to escape the fact that it’s my body and it’s my stored fats? 😆

3. Give out at least one freebie a week. Maybe more. (Love creating, love sharing what I create with you. Need I say more?)

4. Seriously consider finally getting that Lasik operation done on my eyes. This month. Go see the top specialist in the country on Monday. (I have always been deathly afraid of having this operation, despite the fact that two of my sisters have had it successfully, and my brother is going to have his on Monday. I am totally dependent on my sense of sight, myopic it may be, and I can imagine surviving with the loss of all the other four senses, but not the sense of sight. I would absolutely go insane without sight: how will I read? how will I scrap? how will I take photos? No eyes = No life. So I’ve stayed away from Lasik as much as I can. But… if I don’t do it now, when? When I’m too old for it to be successful? Besides, I’m thinking of how cool it would be to open my eyes in the morning without having to grope around for my glasses, no matter how cool and chic they are. 😆 Also, my sister tells me, 10 minutes after the operation, I can go back to my compy and play. How bad could that be, huh?) Cheer me on, my friends. I’ve got the resolve now, but I may not be so resolute come Monday. hehe

5. Clean and organize all the stuff in all the other storage areas. (Discard what must go and donate what is good but not used: clean out and make space… so I can hoard more stuff. 😆 ) Seriously, though: today I started with cleaning out one of the 4 storage rooms we have… and had the pure pleasure of donating and discarding. How liberating to keep only what you know must be kept, and sharing the rest, whether with the garbage collector or with needy ones!

6. Clean and organize my compy. ACDSee, we really must make friends with each other. I truly must go beyond the 10 kits I’ve organized since June. (And must delete all the useless stuff on my compy as well). This is totally daunting, considering that I have 1,100,000 GB of stuff to deal with (does that make 1.1 Tetrabytes?). SIGH. This is not going to be easy, folks. Already I’m exhausted, just thinking about it.

7. Learn some more, play some more, pray some more. (In reverse order).

8. Stop pushing things to the last minute and try doing them in advance.

I should stop here. 8 resolutions for 2008. Sounds good. Hope the results are just as good. hehe.

Okay, now I need to go… got an article to write for a big magazine that was due a week ago. Hey, that’s New Year’s Resolution No. 8 about to be fulfilled right now! Woohoo!

I’ll be back tomorrow with the other-version plopper freebie. Today, all I can offer you is some coffee. But it’s wonderful coffee (decaf for those who need it, and hot chocolate for those who don’t want caffeine), with whipped cream on top. I’ll even serve it to you in the Nice cup. 😉

Enjoy today, my sweeties! (((hugs)))

PS. Noel… the cups you want: I got them from Starbucks some years back. 😉

PS. For those who asked where they could get the awesome Scrappin’ Shoes that I wrote about yesterday: They’re adidas. I wish I could say you can find them at Target or Amazon, but… fact is, I got these from the adidas store at the mall. 🙂