Santa Mug

Mid 2009, mom attended a reunion party with her former office mates, and in some of the party games they had, winners were given a piece of this Santa Mug. Mom was part of the winning team three times, so she gave each of her children one mug each. It was so funny to receive a Christmas inspired item in the middle of the year, but, now that it's Christmastime, the mugs have already served its purpose.

Now where did I put the bag of marshmallows?

Happy Holidays, everyone!

*** Jenn ***

White Poinsettia

To continue with the poinsettia posts for this month on Today's Flowers...

This one was taken 16 December 2009, at a kiosk in front of Robinson's Place Novaliches mall. The family met up for a dinner to celebrate sister's birthday, and because there's a night market outside the mall, we also took time to roam around. I saw this pot of white poinsettia and thought about Today's Flowers so I took one shot of the plant. I find it so interesting to see a plant changes colors during this time of the year. The white looks good, but I still prefer the pink ones.

*** Jenn ***

Help Me Win!

I just received an e-mail that the picture I submitted for the food category was accepted for the Sony Cybershot Tx1 "Love the Night" contest. I was told that winners will be determined via online voting, and that comments made on the site will be counted as one vote. I am now asking you guys to spare a moment of your time to go to this site:

Sony Cybershot Tx1 - Hotdog Bonfire
And comment on it, as I really want to win this one. Prize at stake is a Sony Cybershot Tx1 digital camera. Please help me win. Thanks a lot!

*** Jenn ***

Fireworks at the Bay

Last Saturday, I met up with online friends who are into photography, too, to take pictures of the sunset and the fireworks show at the SM Mall of Asia bay area. I was able to take some pictures of the sunset, but the four of us only got to meet after the sunset.

We found a spot at a restaurant fronting the bay area to wait for the fireworks. When the show started, I saw myself like a deer in the middle of the street, I was stunned by the super beautiful show, that I forgot I needed to take pictures. Well, I did take pictures, but there were just so many things going on - fireworks came from different parts of the area, that I don't know what to shoot anymore.

I had so many crappy pictures, something I am regretful, but I was happy that I had one decent shot. This one wasn't that great... but for now I am contented. :)

*** Jenn ***

Paskong Pinoy (Christmas, Philippine Style)

Tuwing sasapit ang Pasko, hinding hindi mawawala sa ating mga Pilipino ang parol. Gaya ng sinabi ni kuya, "Mahirap man o mayaman, hindi mawawala ang parol sa kabahayan ng mga Pilipino." Para sa temang ito ng Litratong Pinoy, ninais ko sanang litratuhan ang isang barong barong na may parol sa may bintana, ngunit wala akong nakita - marahil dahil hindi naman talaga ako lumalabas masyado. Nang minsan kaming magkakapatid ay naglakad papuntang palengke, napansin ko ang parol na ito sa may poste.

{Christmastime is not complete without the lantern. Just like what my brother said, "Rich or poor, they will always have a lantern hanging on their houses." For this theme in Litratong Pinoy, I hoped of taking a picture of a house in the shanties with a Christmas lantern by the window, but I wasn't able to see one - probably because I didn't really go out that much. Anyway, while my siblings and I were walking to the market, I spotted this lantern by the electric post.}

May pagka-simboliko ang litratong ito para sa akin. Ang mga kable ng kuryente ay gaya rin ng mga kalsadang dinaraanan natin bilang isang tao - may mga pagkakataong nagiging sali-saliwa ang buhay natin dahil sa mga desisyong ginagawa natin, at ang parol ay sumisimbulo kay Hesucristo, ang liwanag na ibinigay sa atin ng Panginoon upang gabayan ang ating daraanan. Ang liwanag mula sa bituin din ang nag-gabay sa tatlong hari upang marating ang sabsaban kung saan ipinanganak si Hesucristo, 'di ba?

{I shot this image because I found something symbolic here. The electric cables are like our own pathways - there are times the roads we're walking into are somewhat tangled to each other because of the decisions we've made, and the lantern symbolizes Jesus Christ, a gift to us from God to guide our way. As what was stated in the bible, the light of the star guided the three kings to where Jesus Christ is, right?}

Kung tutuusin, magkagulo gulo man ang ating mga daraanan sa dami ng kailangan nating gawin, o sa dami ng problemang ating pinagdaraanan, alam natin sa kaibuturan ng ating puso, mayroong liwanag na gagabay sa atin. Kailangan lang natin siyang lapitan.

{Our paths may get tangled with so much things we needed to do, or with so many problems we have to face, but.. we know that deep in our hearts, there's a light from God that will guide us. All we have to do is reach out.}

*** Jenn ***

"Ad astra per aspera"
"to the stars amid adversities"

V - Villa Escudero

Taken from the resort's website, Villa Escudero is "A self-contained working coconut plantation, It was founded in the 1880s by Don Placido Escudero and his wife Dona Claudia Marasigan. Originally planted to sugarcane, the crop was converted to coconut by their son Don Arsenio Escudero in the early 1900s. A pioneering agro-industrialist, he built the country's first working hydroelectric plant to supply his dessicated coconut factory and Villa Escudero, where he and his wife Dona Rosario Adap built in 1929."

March of 2008, my mom invited me to come with them on a trip to the villa as part of their annual out of town trip in the office. At first I hesitated, but mom really wanted me to come, so off I went with them. It was a long ride, but getting there, I was mesmerized and in awe of its beauty.


The old church. It's now the villa's museum - containing different artifacts and mementos of the family. Picture taking was strictly prohibited inside the museum, too bad. Anyway, I heard local celebrities Rudy Fernandez and Lorna Tolentino had their wedding here, am just not sure if this was the church because the villa has another chapel.


Because the villa is big, guests can take the carabao carriages from the receiving area to the other part of the villa. While on the trip, staffs will serenade the guests with Filipino folk songs.


One of the famous amenities in the villa is the lunch by the waterfalls restaurant. It's a man made waterfalls, and water from the Labasin Lake flows down here. Guests can eat as much as they can - it's an eat all you can buffet - and the unique part of eating here was that the guests' feet are submerged in water.


The Lawa ng Labasin (Labasin Lake) - where guests can use the bamboo rafts.


During weekends, the Coconut Pavillon hosts a cultural show - featuring different Philippine Folk Dances and tradition. What's so great about the show was that performers are also staffs of the villa.

There are so many things to do at the Villa Escudero, too bad I wasn't into photography yet at that time so some of my shots weren't that good, and that I didn't really take that much pictures. I am not sure if I can still set foot in this place, but if I do, I'd make sure I'd explore much and take much more pictures.

If you wish to know more about the villa, you can check their website HERE. All pictures in this post were taken using my brother's Canon Powershot A460 digital camera, except for the cultural show, which was taken using my Sony Ericsson K800i cell phone. I used my cell phone using my left hand because I was using my brother's camera to video the presentation using my right hand (talk about multitasking). :)

*** Jenn ***

Christmas Lights Bokeh

I was hopping through some photo blogs when an interesting picture caught my eye. The blog owner said it was her version of Christmas Lights Bokeh, and seeing it made we wish I could do it, too. Well last week, I was trying to take pictures for my Project 365, and the Christmas lights over our neighbor's house caught my attention. They created a star shape of lights on their window, and I was hoping to take a picture of it. I was able to take pictures of the lights, but this somehow became my photo for the day. Actually, this picture was a product of an accident, the window was quite far and I had to max up on the zoom - to the point that I was already using the digital zoom. But somehow, it did remind me of the great bokeh a photoblogger created. This one wasn't good, but I got a bokeh! Hehehe.

*** Jenn ***

ps - for DSLR users, I read that if you want to create your own bokeh, put the camera on manual focus and take the shot. I am using a point and shoot, so I can't do it, even if I want to. :)