Photo Lab (or photo love)

When I took up a basic photography class, I didn't know how it would affect me. I just wanted to find out how to use my Nikon D40 manually. I have pictures in my head but I couldn't seem to mount and capture them. With practice, slowly, I realized that I began to see things differently. Photography became therapeutic. I started to shoot things and people in different angles, with different lightings, trying to see a new perspective. Something I haven't really explored before. In a sense, it brings out a passion... a passion for what's fresh... a passion for good imagery. You can say, I fell in love with photography.

Curvaceous

I discovered a new passion. A burning passion that was inside of me, long before I even decided to take on this journey. I am a visual person. I associate a lot of things with what I see. I am in love with imageries that convey emotions, in different degrees, in various stages. These reasons pushed me to just jump and take the plunge. To just pursue it. I am now enjoying the minute details that I get to capture. Things I can only freeze in my head but now I can keep and be reminded of every time. I think the camera is one of man's greatest inventions. To actually "record the present" to be able to have "something of the past" to be "reminded of in the future." Isn't amazing how a moment can be frozen in time?

Superwomom's note: The photo above was taken in Fort Santiago as part of an exercise in our basic photography workshop. You might be a photo enthusiast who is looking for a basic photography workshop that is both affordable and helpful for budding photographers. You may enroll in FPPF (Federation of Philippine Photographers Foundation). Check out their website - www.photoworldmanila.com.

The Brownie

I am a self-confessed chocolate addict. In whatever form, I wouldn't resist. Brownie. Ahh! One of my favorite comfort food. A serving or two (or more) completes my day. I almost always have that urge. I just have to do it. Indulge and enjoy. Today, I craved for the sweet, chewy, melt-in-your-mouth, delightfully sinful dessert. And you guessed it, I took that bite, without second thoughts.

dream place

i dream of a place in my head
where shadows, colors and blurs wed

where there's marriage of ambers and yellows
mornings, dews and rainbows

kisses of sunshines
in curves, lines and vines

lips of bloody roses
mums on pink blushes

harsh greys of misty rains
terracota ground of stones and grains

sea of greens in various hues
fluffy whites in blanket blues

i dream of a place in my head
where shadows, colors and blurs wed

a refuge, a home i once read
in time, i hope, i may be led

The Sweetest Guy

I consider myself lucky to be married to Ramir - the sweetest guy I’ve ever met. We’ve been married 3 years and he still takes my breath away. He would surprise me with candlelit dinners, flowers spelled I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U on the bed, homecooked meals that he knows I crave. From the time we’ve been married, he never fails to text me, on almost the exact time, to ask how my day is going. He is my all-around, ever-reliable house buddy. He doesn’t mind juggling household chores with me. We take turns in cleaning the house, doing the dishes, taking care of our daughter. He is my handyman – fixes things that needs to get fixed, my perfect market companion –believes that going to the “palengke” is one of our bonding moments and he doesn’t mind lugging around with the “bayong” so I wouldn’t need to carry heavy stuff. But more that, he is the sweetest hubby because he holds my hand while we walk, kisses and hugs me just because, teaches our one-year old daughter to say “tines” after his “ happy valen…” so that they both can make my heart leap with their “happy valentine’s” greeting. Whenever he arrives from work, he would call me up in the office to tell me that my daughter would like to speak to me, and even if it’s just a babble, I hear my daughter saying “love you” and “mama” because he’s father is dictating it to her. I love being married because I have him for my husband. I remembered how he proposed to me with three dozen roses given by three different kids at 30 minutes intervals before he arrives and presented me with a ring on bended knees. I remembered how he asked his officemates to cut paper stars and paper hearts so he can scattered it on the floor to add a touch of romance to an ordinary take-out dinner. Or how he lights up the whole living room with candles while songs from our wedding album play on the background to mesmerize me on my birthday. I remembered how he would make me listen to songs, telling me to listen intently to its lyrics because it perfectly describes how he feels for me. That’s exactly how “When I See You Smile,” “Heaven” and “Price of Love” got accepted into my list of “all time favorite songs.” And lastly I remembered that he married me even though I told him that there’s a possibility that I wouldn’t be able to bear any child because of a back operation which happened long ago. Before we walked down the aisle, he wrote a letter telling me that I am his greatest miracle, and every single day after our “I do’s,” he made me feel just that. Yes, I believe am spending my life with a sweet guy, and everyday, I thank the Lord for leading me to him.

Ado about Adobo

I think Adobo is the all-time favorite Filipino dish. If not for the easy-to-make, almost-non-perishable viand, my life as a womom would be more complicated. If there’s nothing else but chicken and I couldn’t convince myself to walk some hundred yards to the nearest friendly mini-market, then staple soy sauce, vinegar, onion and garlic plus sugar, salt, pepper and laurel would be my reliable allies. For the other womom’s out there, I’m sharing with you my fool-proof Adobo recipe. I can’t promise that it’s the best but I can assure you that in 15 to 20 minutes, it can ease the pain of a growling stomach.

Step 1
In a saucepan, combine:
2 ladles soy sauce
2 ladles vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 bay leaf (laurel)
Salt and pepper to taste
¾ kilo chicken

Bring to a boil. Once the chicken is half-cooked, remove it from the saucepan and set the mixture aside.

Step 2
Put some oil into a skillet or pan and saute
Garlic and onion (as much as you want). Once these are wilted, put in the half-cooked chicken. Pour in a portion of the mixture.

For a dry adobo, pour in just half of the mixture. Under a low fire, let the chicken absorb all the mixture until it gets a little caramelized.

For a saucy adobo, pour in ¾ of the mixture. Under a low fire, bring it into a boil until the chicken is well done.

Kain na!