LOTD - Layout of the Day at Gotta Pixel

i really feel bad not saying 'thank you' to everyone who left some love to my layout especially when it was featured 'layout of the day' last march 2, 2009. i am really sorry...but THANK YOU very much for choosing my layout as lotd. here is the layout that was chosen:

and also...i would like to thank KAREN LEWIS, my ever so kind, understanding and generous designer, who believes in my talent. i have been with her for almost 2 years now...i think. i really owe her a lot. and for all those scrappers out there, you should check out her designs! you can find them here:
Digital Freebies
Gotta Pixel
karen...thank you very much!!

WEEK 11

MARCH 11, 2009
today i realized how diffucult it must be to grow old alone. we saw this old lady lying on the sidewalk, her head bleeding. i wondered what happened to her. good thing help arrived right away.
i see lots of old people here walking alone with their cane in one hand and their caddy in the other. walking slowly crossing streets finding their way to the grocery store. i even saw a lady one time with her oxygen tank with her while doing grocery. i mean i hope they have a child looking after them or just a care giver or...just somebody.
anyway...im just so grateful someone helped this old lady right away.

MARCH 10, 2009
it has been raining the whole day... though it doesn't rain really hard in paris, it is still difficult to go out in this kind of weather. as my dh and kids cross the street, i took a picture of them....walking under the rain.

MARCH 9, 2009
early morning i went to meet some doctors from manila. dr. aquino is my dad's pulmunologist and dr. padlan was the one who operated on my wounded foot. i really wanted to invite them over for dinner...but their schedule was so tight. so i just decided to meet them at their hotel (which is not that far from our house) and spend some time with them. on my way back i missed the bus so i just walked home. it was a bit far but it was a nice walk home. and as i was crossing pont mirabeau, i took some pictures of eiffel tower and our apartment.

WEEK 10: march 2-8

so let me share with you my photo journal for the first week of march (and the 10th week of the year...i hope i am right with my counting...). but i included here march 1 photo just to start march all together. i know i am a bit late in updating my blog but i will try to post some missing dates so i can complete my project 365. i think it is a very interesting project!!... keeping an everyday journal of little things in my life. so i guess you will learn a little of me.

a time for my family - PART 3

Last February 11 we celebrated dad's 78th birthday. It was difficult to find a gift for him so we decided to give him something that we made. We designed matching shirts for mommy and daddy that say they are the BEST grandparents. And we gave them a photo of the most recent picture of them with all the grandchildren present in the philippines. I really hope we made mom and dad happy.

I celebrated my birthday in the Philippines. I missed my husband and my kids but my celebration was still very memorable. We had an appointment with my dad's doctor that day and we(me and the rest of my siblings) all wanted to hear from the doctor what the real health conditon of daddy and so we can all ask questions directly. Anyway, while we were waiting outside the doctors' office, we were joking and laughing!! You would not even imagine that we were there because our dad has cancer. I know it was not really good news but we were just happy being together and besides we have decided we will just make the most with our remaining days with dad! But of course after the meeting with the doctor, we were quiet. Then we still went out to celebrate my birthday. I will never forget my 34th birthday celebration when I am with all my brothers and sister.

a time for my family - PART 2

Up til the last minute I had friends to meet. My last sunday in the Philippines was spent for last minute shopping, lunch with Tita Del and Tito Mike, and late afternoon miryenda with Naida's and Meg's families. Then had to stay up til 2am to finish packing.

Okey, so that week started really good. I had dinner with my college friends: Bing, Ann-Ann,Sheila and Alma. But the following day I had a little accident. As I was entering the kitchen door of my sister's house, my foot got caught at the corner of the aluminun door. It was pretty sharp so I got wounded really deep. I went to the hospital to get anti-tetanus shots (scared to die huh?!!) but when the doctor saw the wound, he said I needed some stitches. They brought me to the operating room and after an hour I was good to go. Oh...they still gave me anti-tetanus shots!! Anyway, my in-laws visited my again that night ang they were really surprised with what happened. (Good thing my mom-in-law will be flying back with me to Paris. With an injured foot and a baby I really don't know how to handle everything alone..). So February 11 we all went back to batangas for dad's birthday. I will be posting a separate layout for his birthday.

a time for my family... PART 1

so finally i finished a couple of layouts and i want to share them with you. just work your way up... or whichever way you want. you'll figure it out eventually.

More people came the following week. Fr. Jonas came and brought us some goodies (really yummy!!). Tita Esther and Tita Adela also surprised us one morning!! Oh they were really sweet to see me and my family.They made my dad laugh. Another old friend of my siblings dropped by, her name is Emy.
The highlight of this week was our visit to a famous church in Lucban, Quezon. It is quite far, 3-hour drive actually. We attended a healing mass of Fr. Faller.


Another sister of my dad, Auntie Esther also came that week. My cousin Jesselyn (daughter of my dad’s sister who passed away) visited with her nephew who just got married. Our family friend in Paris who is now assigned in the Philippines, Ferdie, came with his family. My in-laws also came!!


We were really surprised with all the friends and relatives who came to visit us. My aunt (from Mindoro whom I haven’t seen for the longest time) came with her husband , daughter and son-in-law. My dad was really happy to see his sister. Then late that night my Lolo Simeon, Tita Charity, Lola Loring, Tito Rudy and his wife with their sons Sherwin and Joseph all came to see dad. Dad and his uncle, Lolo Simeon had a really nice talk. My good friend from elementary, Fr. Russel Matuloy was kind enough to see us in such short notice. Some good old friends of my brothers and sisters also drop by every now and then to spend time with us.


the following day we ‘the girls’ went out for a make over, i needed a proper haircut and my mom wanted to color her hair. but we all ended up having our hair cut. then we had our first family dinner that night. i couldn't remember the last time we were complete on a dinner table. it was definitely something to remember.
then we went home to batangas, my dad insisted of going home (to our batangas house). and we just played madyong all the time. and every weekend the rest of the family would all go to batangas and just spend time together.



the day i arrived...the first thing i noticed --- it was very hot (gosh..what do i expect!!). too bad i was still wearing my turleneck shirt. and because my hands were loaded (carrying sofia and my hand bag plus my heavy back pack) i had to wear my trench coat. anyway, i manage to come out of the airport alive (hehehe) and my niece jake was waiting for us outside. so happy to see her.
it was a short drive from the airport to their house in san lorenzo village (makati). i was so happy to see my dad. he got thinner but still very jolly (that's what i love about my dad). after resting for awhile, we started ‘videoke’ right away!! it was really nice to be home..

i have been gone for so long...

i came back last february 16, but only now have i gotten the chance to write something here. i have been really busy getting back into my routine. i have to much stories to share about my vacation. it will be a little difficult to tell you the daily story about my vacation so i will make it a 'weekly' summary. so now let me just post the last 2 days i was in paris before my flight...

17 january 2009
i finally finished packing. had all the 'pasalubong' fit in my luggage. technically i finished january 18 because it was already 2:00 in the morning. need to wake up at 6:00 am and be at the airport by 7:30. i'm tired...already.

18 january 2009
we were early at the airport. we had breakfast there. we checked in our luggages but waited the last minute to go inside. we wanted to spend more time with papa. and when the time we had to go in...papa said goodbye to sofia. naiyak naman ako when i saw my husband close to tears. alam mo mami-miss nya kami sobra lalo na si sofia. when i left the house, rafael and isabelle were still sleeping. buti na lang natutulog pa sila dahil nahihirapan akong iwan sila. tapos dito sa airport eh hindi ko rin napigil at napaiyak din ako.

for those who are wondering how my husband and 2 kids managed in paris while i was gone... well, my sis-in-law from canada volunteered to come over. she arrived janruary 15 and left last february 19. it was really nice of her to come and take care of my family while i was gone. my whole family is very grateful... 'thank you very much, ate mel!!'