Time Magazine Monster*

France, 2007.

"Memory is the fuel that takes you back up the river of Time." - Salman Rushdie**

* What my dad calls me because all the Time magazines disappear whenever I visit.

** Quotable quote picked up from a Time magazine issue I recently stole.

I wish you all much love and joy and peace. I am blessed to love and be loved by you. Hugs!

Happy Holidaze from TV Land

Tickled pink.

I'm a Luddite so I don't know what's going on or how it goes on, but I'm kilig.

Pork Panalo

When I was a kid I wanted to be an Olympic gymnast. Several years, pounds, and brittle joints later I realized that wasn't going to happen.

Here's one kid who kept his eye on the ball--and for that alone mega-to-the-max idol ko siya.

Photo and wagi placard by Jason Drilon.

Chef Sharwin Tee, it was a joy to see you make your childhood dream come true.

Photos by Aimee Apolinario

Papa J, your signs ROCKED!

Who are the people in your neighborhood?

Apparently, a really big--and cool--bird.

(Obviously I don't know much about our feathered friends. I have no idea what she is, but I'm glad she hung out long enough to let me take pictures.)

rainy car rides and sprained ankles

My mother (bless her heart) spent weeks scanning our photo albums. I have her to thank for these wonderful memories. I thought I'd put them on cyberspace because seeing them made me smile and laugh and wish and miss and think, "What were you thinking???"

“Youth is, after all, just a moment, but it is the moment, the spark, that you always carry in your heart.” - Raisa Gorbachev

Can't sleep.

Ganito pala ang feeling. Di mapakali. Di makatulog. Di mapatahimik ang utak. Di puwede maging stockbroker.

Home-schooled: Sari-saring Lamon

Chicken and Pork Adobo

Shredded Chicken with Oyster Sauce

Not pictured:

- Whole wheat pancakes that I massacred (I cannot make them round to save my life)
- Bistek Tagalog (that Cybs and Nelly loved, but Syd laughed and said it wasn't real Bistek Tagalog because I used Kikkoman and oyster sauce)

What I need to figure out:

- What attire would be best to protect myself from palansik. Something like a HazMat suit.

Love in the Laundry Room

I know mukha ng laundry bag si cyberlaundry these days. But I can't help but love these bags and these photos. What is labor of love?

I have a new favorite thing to add to my list.

Packaging! Folding! Fun.

Shameless Plugging: Our New Baby

Because everybody's got dirty laundry.
(And because nagpapanggap kaming negosyante!)

Karen (my fellow Manang + soul sistah from GamePlan and Lifestyle Network) and I are selling laundry bags! Check out our website here. We're also on Facebook.


We've got bags to keep your laundry sitting pretty...



...and sitting witty.


Keep us in mind when you're going insane trying to find time to shop for Christmas gifts! :)

Bow.

Because I want to keep watching this until I'm old and gray...

...or (knock on wood) the Internet crashes.

Foxy Ladies and Stud Muffins and Bay's Angels.
Knee pads and Coleman/Igloo water jugs and Jansport/Eastpak backpacks.
Bars vs. counts. Balong malalim. Come out and play. Another one bites the dust. Free your mind. My Sharona. Are you gonna go my way?

With you ghels and boyz, ALWAYS.

Singapore Snippets (2010)

My new hangout...

Reminds me of Queens...especially the getting there part.

Practice makes perfect?

Patience is a virtue. I think this new hobby will teach me that. Hopefully.

A Day with Daisy

I have named my new friend Daisy, after Meg's daughter in Little Women. The idea came to me while I washed the dishes this morning. Daisy speaks to the wanna-be homemaker in me.

Today I found a little helper for Daisy. I love this thing. I can't cut straight for shit, so this nifty gadget is a godsend. When I went to National Bookstore I had to say, "Yung parang pang-slice ng pizza." I finally found one in a craft store in SM Megamall. (Talagang we've got it all for you.)

It took all my self-control not to stop mid-cut (I was so mesmerized by the "self-healing" properties of the mat).


So this is what Daisy and I made today.

I followed this tutorial. The pouch is far from perfect, and it took me a while to figure the process out, but I am just so happy to be creating things that, after a decade of working with words, I can actually touch.

Say hello to my little friend.

Will we get along? Abangan.

Evita has been temporarily relocated, but I'm hoping to find a more permanent (and ergonomic) location for our new housemate. I haven't named her yet, but I'm pretty sure she is also a girl.

One of the freakiest things so far: Muscle memory from H.E. (at least I think it is). My hand kept going to the back of the machine for the presser foot lever.

How to survive a hostage situation

http://ph.yfittopostblog.com/2010/09/01/how-to-survive-a-hostage-situation/

This is what Cybs, Nelly and I were wondering when it was all over.

Home-schooled: Dory rolls

Cybs and Nelly have a spankin' new gas oven. Señor Elba and I are trying to get along, but it's a bit of a struggle on my part. I am not a fan of fire.

Brush fillets with a mixture of lemon juice, crushed garlic, salt and pepper. Load them up with spinach leaves. Roll 'em up, tie 'em up and fry 'em.** Serve with couscous and buttered vegetables. Be prepared to burp very loudly and crassly in front of your new brother-in-law.

**What I wanted to do to the media and usisero last night. And that's all I'm going to say because everybody has said everything.

Bang Bang Bliss

Sewing the seeds of love?

A while back I blogged about an itch I wanted to scratch.

In classic Libran fashion (something I think my spankin'-new brother-in-law has yet to get used to; he likes to say "Buy it buy it" a lot) I have been taking my sweet time--lurking in the crafty sections of bookstores, staring at sewing machines in appliance stores, checking out online tutorials, twiddling my thumbs...

Today I had a carpe diem moment. I bought fabric weeks ago and, after a particularly enjoyable morning yoga session, found myself cutting a panel of the orange fabric. No measuring, no planning, just cut! Seize the scissors!

Ang pinaka-kuwadradong drawstring bag sa balat ng lupa.

It's a good thing I got striped fabric, because I can't sew straight to save my butt (see below for photographic evidence). But it was kind of fun and at times strangely soothing. (I say "strangely" because I never enjoyed Home Economics back in high school.)


I took my cue from this tutorial.

Perhaps it's a sign that two people I know have bought the machine I have been eyeing for a while. Abangan!

Special thanks to Saizen for this tanggal-kati afternoon.

Dial M for Malapit na Mamatay

A few days ago my phone started hanging every time I tried to get to the "M" part of my address book. Soon it started hanging every time I tried to open my message inbox.

I am kind of surprised that I am blogging about the impending death of my phone--affected ang lola mo. That phone is full of saved messages from loved ones and clients; directions to people's houses (I am, as you all know, navigationally-challenged); alarms for people's birthdays and anniversaries. And she's super easy to text with, and my muscle memory is so sanay na with her shortcuts and navigation keys and all that chorva.

And I was smart enough not to back up my contact list. What is BOBO. Urgh.

Photo from www.gizmodo.com

Stuff you find when cleaning the study...

...because Nelly needs space for Galvatron (his computer):

29 July 1999

Three things one should do, according to my Ph103 professor, Fr. Santos:

1. Climb a mountain and feel like Superman;

2. Walk along the seashore and feel insignificant; and

3. Cuddle a baby and know that you're somewhere in between.

Time Space Warp.

Watching the final season of The Tudors is kind of freaking me out--and I'm not just talking about the usual torrid sex scenes--though DANG ang bata ni Catherine Howard, di ko kaya.

It freaked me out because Sir Thomas Seymour looks sooooo much like Jenson Button.

Look.

16th Century Baron

21st Century F1 Driver

Right? Di tuloy ako maka-concentrate.

Da Godfather Wedding: Behind the Scenes

And just like that...

A hug from Daddy.

Da Sister + Papi's Wedding is done. Like a funky dream with lots of purple things, laughter, tears, a blister or two, and my sister enveloped in a beautiful white mist chorva, standing next to the man she loves.

First dance as Mr. and Mrs. Manlapaz

Love love love all around. Quotable quote of the day: "Anything for Cybs."
Yes. Anything.

Da Brother (sergeant-at-arms sa simbahan)

Da Sexy Cousin Ria: Official Javier Photographer + Bread Woman

Friends and loved ones who crossed their toes for good weather and all good things, who emailed and lent helpful things, who were there to give this Maid of Horror a hand, you know who you are.

And a special shout out to Lola Lettie who used her pull with Da Big Boss in the Sky: thank you for answering our pleas when Huey the Printer kept freezing up. You were so with us that day.

The Manlapaz Family rockin' the house...

...while Cybs and loved ones cheer them on.


My Father the Shutterbug.


Carlo, The Co-Host with the Most.
People who are naturally funny on-cue and in front of a lot of people ROCK.


My Cool Cousin.
(Who just might be Syd's new Papi. Long hair? Check. Handy with firearms? Check.)