Lavender & Coffee Stains

Dear Me,

After my little boy's pedia check-up at the Chinese General Hospital last week, I thought it would be a nice change for him to have some form of entertainment afterward. We hopped in the nearby mall, at SM San Lazaro.

Well, I first did my bank errands to eliminate them from my to-do list for the following week. It was shooting two birdies with one stone, so to speak.

I was not really familiar with the mall's entertainment scene but as we meandered around, we caught up with LG's Cookie Mascot. A friendly-looking mascot wandering around the mall surely got my little boy's attention.


very game with the shoot
Heading on, we bumped into Johan's Motortown. This kiddie place rents out motorized cars for the little boys and girls to enjoy. Instead of the usual car that Miguel rides in, I chose the bulky motor bike for a new kind of experience for him. I was a little shilly-shally at first because the thought of my little boy falling off the bike scared me. I asked the guy in-charge if I could follow him around while he drove. I got an affirmative.



Usually, hubby is the one engaging the little tyke to do this thing. Since he's now out of the country, I have to take his place. When Miguel was firmly settled in the seat, I was waiting for the guy to give me a go-sign. When it did not happen, I checked out the bike on how to make it move. There it was, Miguel was stepping on the switch, which acted like a pedal. If you stepped on it, the bike would move forward and if you rested your foot off the switch, it would simply stand still. Yeah, embarrassing moment for me!



After a few trials, Miguel got the hang of it. He could drive straight within the allocated space. The next thing he needed to learn was how to turn left and right and so I thought him how. I told him to swerve the handle bars to the right if he's going to the right and to the left to turn to the left side.





He seemed to enjoyed it so much that I had a hard time telling him to look at me so I could take nice shots of him facing the camera.



When I knew that he would be safe and not afraid, I walked in front of him instead of beside him. Later on, I playfully ran and he was giggling so hard of the idea of him chasing me around.

After a few turns, I was catching my breath from the running and laughing. I told him to take it slow so I could catch up. Hehehe.

A few more minutes and he was off the bike. He still wanted to go on but I told him that we could do that again soon. Fortunately, he believed me. :)

Dear Me,

It's been a while since I joined a book meme. Life kinda took over and I had to set things aside. And while at it, I made sure that I would be reading again. :)


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read.
  
• Open to a random page.
  
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page.
  
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
  (make sure that what you share doesn't give too much away! You don't want to ruin the book for others!)
  
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

From the covers to the synopsis, I think I am loving Polly Williams.




Here's my chosen teasers:

It's hard to believe that I've been away for a week rather than just popped out during a lunch hour. This place shrinks time to nothing, swallowing meetings, mornings, weeks, years...


~ page 275, A Good Girl Comes Undone

Dear Me,

When things go awry OR discordant thoughts buzz in my head OR keen anxiety pervades through me as I try to wrap up the bullet points in my daily to-do list, I virtually perceive a dark cloud looming over me.

To remedy the sudden onset of blues, I open the ref and check among boxes of sweets. So far, this is my most favorite white chocolate!


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Hershey's cookies 'n' creme - A bar of this white chocolate tastes better when devoured chilled. It is creamy gooey yet crunchy in the mouth due to cookie bits.

Dear Me,

My little boy never ceases to amaze me...and with hilarity. It just did not happen once but many times. He has a new talent to show and that he is unaware of it. I always catch him doing this and everytime I point it out, he will simply brush me off.



We were in the bedroom one hot afternoon (with the a/c on) and while I was doing my thing, he was playing with his toys while watching Blue's Clues in his father's desktop. It was like this for an hour or so and the next time I looked at what he was doing, he had his toys moved away to his side of the bed. And what about him? Well, he was facing the desktop and slouching on the side of the bed. I assumed he was watching.

I called him out and asked if he was done playing. When I did not receive any kind of reply, I stood up and checked him up close. To my surprise, he was doing it again for the nth time!



Sleeping while standing!

I tried to wake him up and he opened his eyes but closed them again.

I tried to wake him up and just told me that he wanted to sleep.

I tried to wake him up and he threw a tantrum for a few seconds.




It went on and on and a thought struck me. Take a photo and next time, show it to him. Maybe when he's a little older, he will laugh at it.

Well, I was successful with my final attempt. I carried him up and despite the minor resistance, he gave up and I was able to settle him down to bed for a nap. :)

Dear Me,

To jumpstart Project 179, here's a snapshot of a flower I have come to love since I was seven years old.


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Bougainvilleas are popular decorative plants found in many areas with warm climate like here in the Philippines.

Trivia: the actual flower of the plant is small and generally white, but each cluster of three flowers is surrounded by three or six bracts with the bright colors associated with the plant, including pink, magenta, purple, red, orange, white, or yellow.

This photo was taken this morning en route to the local post office.

Dear Me,

I just realized something...and it hit me hard.

I have so many things that I want to do; projects that I want to start.

It always happen like that.

The idea is there and the plan is great. From one simple thought, the mind curved it into a fabulous idea and interesting subject.

And that's it.

It's mid-year already and I've always been planning to start new things and never get on with it.

I know it's kinda late during this time of the year. So what? The thing is I'm molding an idea into a project.

I'm starting it right now and materializing a plan from long ago. I have always wanted to start my own Project 365. I have waited long enough. If I am not mistaken, I thought of starting it two years ago. The years passed and nothing came out of it.



Since it is July already, I'm naming this new hobby as Project 179.

It is the usual one-photo-a-day project. Take the shots and collect photos documenting the remaining days of year 2010. :)

Dear Me,

I was still working in corporate Makati when this 'market' opened shop. And now I could not believe that they have been here already for five years. The sad part: despite wanting to go there and marking my calendar many times, I still failed to come and take a peek. My loss.

Now on their fifth year, the Legazpi Sunday Market will celebrate by having a grand buffet featuring dishes from its food vendors.


Legazpi Sunday Market's 5th Anniversary
July 25, 2010 / Sunday / 8:00am - 2:00pm
Legazpi Sunday Market Grounds
(corner Legazpi and Rufino Streets)

I have been hearing a lot of awesome things about this heavenly place. Lots of cooked food even the uncooked ones, cakes and pastries, art, native products and other unique stuff.

Unfortunately, I may have to pass up again another opportunity for I will be spending a week in the Queen of the South hooking up with old friends, touring the city with a member of the M clan and spending time with hubby's family.

But one thing I know is that the Legazpi Sunday Market is there to stay as it continually grows - as food vendors (who have lots to offer) find their way to be part of the market and shoppers discover food that appeals so much to their palate.