http://gratitude.fotopages.com/ thirty-something working mom in cebu with a new found love for photography. mother of 3 boys- matt (11), kyle (8), and baby jake. wife and friend of jerry. Video code provided by MusicVideoCodes.com Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:24:11 GMT Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:24:11 GMT http://www.fotopages.com/images/rss_logo.gif http://shw.fotopages.com/ 40 60 I didn't want to pre-empt the launching of my new site, but since I started tinkering with Wordpress (thanks to http://marikit.net/(Tin)!), I am now the proud owner of http://linnor.marikit.net/ So feel free to click http://linnor.marikit.net/ and continue reading about our newly http://linnor.marikit.net/(CAPTURED MOMENTS). While you're at it, please update your links too. :-> See you http://linnor.marikit.net/(there)! 8-) http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=439724 Tue, 17 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT Last Tuesday, Nanny Cathy excitedly told me that Jake could walk a few steps. Yeah, right. We have seen him pull himself up in the playpen or walk while clutching your hand or onto low furniture, but I haven't seen him walk real steps all by his lonesome. I wanted to see for myself. Back from a stroll downstairs with the other tots, I eagerly waited as Nanny Cathy poised Jake to showcase his newly-perfected skill. I was quite hesitant to let go of him completely, thinking that it was just too soon. Then, I felt that he wasn't leaning on me for support. Huh? Wha... He was standing, a bit wobbly though. This was nothing new. Jake could stand alright, even before he turned a year old. Then, his weight shifted from one leg to the other. He looked very determined to lift his right leg, then his left. Soon, like in cadence, he made his slow baby steps towards the television. I literally shrieked with delight! Was this for real? Jake is walking!!! My baby is now walking! Aw... I felt a pang inside of me. My Jake is really walking now... After a few days, Jake seemed more confident to walk... http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=437297 Fri, 13 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT I hurriedly got dressed this morning, thrilled to watch Matthew play with his basketball team. At the last minute, Kyle decided to stay home to just have fun with little Jake. I would have wanted him to join us (you know, thinking it was a good way to bond), but later on realized that it was in fact good he stayed or he would have gotten bored rigid and ratty sitting in a warm court for nearly the whole morning. The indoor court in the club was buzzing with boys, mostly players. There were parents too, eager to see their sons play. And the HAPEE Team players and Matt were donning their "aprons" (Jerry called it "bibs") over their shirts as they were getting all set for the game. Matt played on the 1st and 4th quarters as center or forward player. He is one of the tallest players for the 9-12 age bracket. And seeing him shoot and do the rebounds, I suddenly had visions of myself having an NBA player for a son. That's NBA folks, no less. Yee-ha! They actually lost to their opponent (boo!), but it was certainly a great match. It was their 3rd game on their very first league and I saw how it improved their team spirit, ball-handling and shooting skills. The experience was an excellent practice and would indubitably benefit their subsequent competitions. huddled for the team's play strategies Matt & Raymond - top 2 players for Hapee ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We had a meeting with our co-tenants at this new mall (Banilad Town Center) this afternoon. Part of the agenda was the opening date slated for June 1. Yikes! That's 2 weeks away and we haven't started constructing our display module yet. I have to call one of my suppliers now to reserve more stocks. Panic time! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ On a different note, the meeting was in Gloria Jean's in Banilad Town Center. To date, Gloria Jean's is the second foreign coffee franchise to open in Cebu after Starbucks. Since I’m not really a fan of these two, applause from me is not forthcoming. No bells and whistles. However, not wanting to be just onlookers while some of our co-tenants were ordering, Jerry and I were forced to try for ourselves. It was my first time to sample their brewed coffee. I'm no coffee connoisseur, but I sure know when my buds are pleased. And for the price paid for a cup, the flavor wasn't much. the mural in Gloria Jean's http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=436000 Thu, 12 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT It was some sort of double celebration last Sunday for Mothers' Day and Rita's birthday. Everyone on Jerry's side of the family was there in full force. The merry month of May indeed is a month of special occasions. May 1 - Cousin Malyn's birthday May 4 - My friend, Lito's birthday May 6 - My sister, May, celebrated her birthday. Hey sis, I'm not about to squeal on your age, don't worry. That would be a dead giveaway for mine. Hahah! I hope you had a good one. May 8 - SIL Rita and friend Mike's birthday May 7 - SIL Eya and Steve's wedding anniversary :-D May 10 - Papa Lalo's (my uncle whom we fondly call Papa) birthday May 20 - My maternal grandma's 91st birthday May 22 - Nephew Michael's birthday May 23 - Friend Dahlia's birthday May 26 - SIL Mary's birthday May 29 - SIL Lynn and friend Forden's birthday, May and Rommel's wedding anniversary If I had a slice of cake for each of these special occasions, I would be plump by June!!! Hehe... LOL http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=434002 Sun, 08 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT What is a better way to beat stress during traffic jams? Take a picture of your passengers. In this case, my passengers were Matt, Kyle and Jake, who didn't seem to mind the sluggish pace. http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=433975 Sat, 07 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT I may have been remiss in updating my blog, but that is not to say I haven't been taking pictures. I think I have captured the mood in each frame better even without the commentary. :-> The exhibit- Kyle's art class' culminating activity Kyle receives his certificate of completion and awards: Best Artwork in Still Life and Best Artwork in Negative & Positive Space Part of the class and the parents as audience Kyle doing an MYMP (Make Your Momma Proud) pose with his artworks The Vincent Van Gogh-ish masterpiece that won Kyle the Best Artwork in Still Life http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=433960 Fri, 06 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT We attended the thanksgiving dinner at the club tendered by my SIL, Mary, for her son John's graduation from college and employment at Lexmark. Finally, after harrowing months of anguish over the thesis project that was mostly caused by a loony thesis panelist from USC, John can now embark on more significant endeavors. What a relief. A-ma doesn't seem to mind Jake's weight on her lap during dinner at the club. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Our little tyke, Jake, is learning to walk and his nanny has noted that chasing after him is now taking its toll on her back. Heheh... It's a cute sight seeing him wobble like a penguin and moving in circles with the nanny as his fulcrum. Hay, I'm amazed no end at his funny antics. Standing up and wobbling a few steps, Jake will soon give us a good exercise chasing after him. http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=427154 Wed, 04 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT Dr. Jake in action... As I looked at Jake busily tinkering the stethoscope and BP monitor in my Mom-in-law's bedroom, I couldn't help but wonder if what I was seeing was his early inclination to medical practice. Hmm... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Labor Day Notes * President Arroyo is firm on wage hike within 30 days. * Job fairs were held all over. * Livelihood workshops were conducted at job fair sites to compensate for lack of jobs. * Employers say jobs are not lacking, the problem is most jobseekers are not fit for the open positions. I guess that says so much about the state of unemployment in the country, huh. http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=424611 Sun, 01 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT Warm and moist nutty brownie with a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream topped with cherry, my fancy food to stave off summer heat... :-D What's yours? I had this a while ago at Table7 for P65 a serving... And this is my submission to today's Photo Friday challenge. http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=422823 Fri, 29 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT What I had for lunch at Mikado Japanese lunch was had by everyone today to celebrate Jerry's nephew's graduation. Ting got the highest honors (ahem, Valedictorian, no less) for grade school and we couldn't be happier for him and my SIL, Rita. :horay: I had decent portions of ebi tempura, beef teppanyaki, Japanese rice and chicken teriyaki. No dessert for me, thank you. How I wish this self-imposed self-denial manifests in weight loss soon. :-S The buffet meal was for P275 per person. It was quite reasonable actually. If only the Mikado staff noticed that one dish was already unfit for consumption. The tofu was of bad quality and the mushroom was tart. Even the gyoza was about ready to go bad since it tasted rancid. Ew. They promptly took the dish off the buffet table, but not after Jerry called their attention about it. Lesson learned, stick to the more familiar fare on the menu (or buffet table in this case). Better safe than sorry. And if one were to ask me if there's any way I'd go back... I'll say I'd rather take ngohiong and puso instead.... @----->----- On another note, I got http:///www.juicystudio.com/fog/(this link) from http://pic.blogspot.com(Memento) and thought I should try to find out the readability of this photoblog... Readability Results for http://gratitude.fotopages.com/ Readability Results Summary Gunning Fog Index 6.96 Flesch Reading Ease 78.15 Flesch-Kincaid Grade 4.17 Gunning-Fog index - a rough measure of how many years of schooling it would take someone to understand the content. The lower the number, the more understandable the content will be to your visitors. Flesch Reading Ease - The higher the score, the easier it is to understand the document. Authors are encouraged to aim for a score of approximately 60 to 70. Flesch-Kincaid grade level - Like the Gunning-Fog index, it is a rough measure of how many years of schooling it would take someone to understand the content. The results above give me more reason to stick to photoblogging. It's easier for visitors to appreciate the site since no lengthy composition or profound exposition is necessary. Each picture speaks for itself. Hehe, okay, enough said already. http://gratitude.fotopages.com/?entry=420526 Wed, 27 Apr 2005 00:00:00 GMT