Fly High!

Before, whenever I would see pictures for Sky Watch Friday featuring pictures taken from the plane, I would always go, "I sure hope I can post something like that, too." Flying isn't something I always do; and in my 29 years of existence, I have only flied four times. So, on both occasion, I really fired up my camera to take as much sky pictures as I could.

This image was taken on board Philippine Airlines bound for Cebu. It has been a great day to fly that day, that although it was high noon, the sun wasn't that harsh unlike the very first time I boarded a plane.

Do you take pictures while on board a plane?

*** Jenn ***

Hapunan (Dinner)

Mula Cebu City, kami ng aking kuya ay bumyahe papuntang Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental upang katagpuin si Ate Malou at ang kanyang mga kasamahan sa Singles for Christ mula Qatar. Kami ay naimbitahan ni Ate Malou na mag "side trip," dahil na rin siguro sa pasasalamat niya sa pag-asikaso ni kuya para sa kanyang ticket pa-Cebu. Nang araw na iyon, ang SFC Qatar ay nasa Bohol, at kaming lahat at nagpang-abot sa pier ng Tagbilaran. Mula Dumaguete City, kami ay sinundo ng isang Couples for Christ member (kasamahan sa trabaho ni Jill), at kami ay tumuloy sa isang bahay bakasyunan sa Tanjay City, Negros Oriental (mga 33-kilometro ang layo mula Dumaguete).

{From Cebu City, my brother and I traveled to Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental to meet up with Ate Malou and her co-Singles for Christ members from Qatar. Ate Malou invited brother and I to do a side trip, as her gratitude to brother for booking her to our flight to Cebu. On that day, the SFC Qatar members were doing another side trip in Bohol, and coincidentally, we all met up in the pier of Tagbilaran. From Dumaguete City, we met up with Tito Bingbong (our host), who drove us to Tanjay City (around 33 kilometers away from Dumaguete) where we stayed.}

Kinabukasan, kaming lahat ay pumunta sa kung saan saang lugar. Maraming sorpresa ang aming natanggap mula sa aming "host," pero ang pinakamalaking sorpresa ay ang paghahanda nila ng isang "thanksgiving dinner." Ramdam na noon pa ni Jill na merong nangyayari dahil makailang beses sa araw na iyon na sadyang pinatatagal ng aming "host" ang byahe, at kung madalas din naming makita ang isa pang ka-trabaho nila sa Qatar na si Tito Lito.

{The next day, we went to different place. We received so many surprises from our host, but the biggest surprise would have to be the thanksgiving dinner they prepared for us. Jill already felt something was going on because there were instances when Tito Bingbong would be slow in driving, or he would drive us somewhere else, and we would always bump into Tito Lito, his workmate in Qatar.}




Ang hapunan ay ginanap sa "By D Blvd," isang kainan na pag-aari ni Tito Lito. Lubos kaming nagulat at namangha sa hapunang ito sapagkat ang buong pamilya nina Tito Bingbong (ang aming "host") at Tito Lito ang nag-abla upang maganap ang pagkakataong ito. Bukod sa lechon, ang iba pang pagkain nang gabing iyon ay kilawing bangus, halabos na sugpo (na kasing laki ng aking palad), caldereta, piniritong tilapia, at para sa panghimagas, silvanas.

{The dinner was held in "By D Blvd," a food place owned by Tito Lito. We were so surprised and amazed because the whole family helped in making this a reality. Aside from the lechon, they also served milkfish kilawin, prawns (as big as my palm), caldereta, fried tilapia, and silvanas for dessert.}

Hanggang ngayon, tuwing naaalala ko ang araw na ito, 'di ko mapigilang hindi mangiti at magpasalamat.

{Until now, whenever I remember of this day, I can't help not to smile and give thanks.}

*** Jenn ***

Pale Purple Hydrangea

Last of the Baguio flowers for this month in Today's Flowers.

Coincidentally, this was also the last flower picture I took the last time I visited the city. We were just about to leave for the conference, when we decided to take some pictures, and near the bench where we had some group shots, I saw this hydrangea plant. I love it whenever I see this plant, especially whenever it's in bloom, it's like lots and lots of little flowers forming a big ball of flower.

But, my favorite hydrangea color is the deep purple.

*** Jenn ***

Ready to Bite

Last image of ants for this month.

I took this picture the other day. I was trying to find a good subject for my Project 365 picture, when a car passed by the street, making stay near our neighbor's house. I noticed they had a beautiful hibiscus plant, different than ours, and in my hopes of taking a good macro shot of the pistil and the stamen, I noticed their hibiscus plant was infested with ants, too! I shoot different pictures of the ants, and this one stood out because this little fellow might have felt violated, hence he was up on his guard to protect his territory.

Well, I am not really trying to disturb them... right? =)

*** Jenn ***

Ripples

I was having a hard time thinking what image to put for this week's theme, but when I saw a definition of ripples as, "To form small waves or undulations, as water agitated by a breeze." I think this image could be a good example of that definition, as these waves won't form if not for the breeze of air (and the movement of the ducks), right? =)

This image was taken last March, when my siblings and I went to Manila to check out MV Doulos. The ship will be open to public at around 2PM, and since we were a bit early, we went to Fort Santiago first to roam and take pictures. These ducks caught our attention, and immediately they became models for a mini photo shoot.

*** Jenn ***

Partial Solar Eclipse

Last month, the Philippines was one of the countries that was able to see the solar eclipse. It was just a partial one, but I was one of the people who eagerly awaited for it.

The news said that the eclipse would start at around 8:30AM, but when I went out to check the sky, the clouds were heavily guarding the sun. I went out of the house every now and then, until finally at around 11AM, I was able to see it.

It was about to end, but still, I was happy to see it. Using one of my sister's pair of sunglasses, I placed it over the lens of my camera, and through the screen of my camera, I watched one of astrology and nature's wonders. I am not sure when will a solar eclipse happen again, but heck yeah, I am proud of this picture, even if it wasn't nicely captured.

*** Jenn ***

Merienda (Snacks)

Bukod sa napakasarap na Chicken Inasal sa Mang Inasal, isa pa sa paborito kong pagkain doon ang kanilang halo-halo. Noong una, medyo alangan akong i-order ito sapagkat baka hindi masarap, pero nang matikman ko, nagustuhan kong talaga. Tuwang - tuwa ako sa napakaraming sangkap sa kanilang halo-halo.. at bagay na bagay rin ang barquillos sa halo-halo.

{Aside from the delicious Chicken Inasal in Mang Inasal, one of my favorites from the said food place is their halo-halo. At first, I was a bit hesitant in ordering this one because it might not be as good, but when I tasted it, I immediately liked it. I was so happy seeing so many ingredients in their halo-halo, and the barquillos also added a nice twist to it.}

Isang payo lang... kung may balak kayong kumain ng halo-halo sa Mang Inasal, wag kayong magpapakabusog sa kanilang rice meals, dahil mahihirapan talaga kayong kainin ito. Noong kami ng aming ina ang kumain nito, pakiramdam namin hindi nababawasan ang laman ng aming baso kahit mga ilang minuto na naming ninanamnam ang pagkain! =)

{A little piece of advice... if you plan to eat halo-halo in Mang Inasal, don't eat much of their rice meals, because you'll be having a hard time eating this one if you were already full. When mom and I had these, we felt as if our glass never rans out of food even if we were eating it for a few minutes already!}

*** Jenn ***