Serene Afternoon (Orani, Bataan)

Saturday Adventures

Salad Extraordinaire

Salad Extraordinaire

Vegetables:
Romaine Lettuce
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Red Bell Pepper
Mango
Jalapeno Pepper

Dressing:
Mayonnaise
Mustard Sauce

How to Make:
Chop all veggies and arrange them on a pretty bowl. Then mix the dressing together, and whip it all over the arranged veggies. Serve with fries (preferably with sour cream and onion flavor) and pair the fries with basil leaves.

Enjoy! :)

Work

These past few weeks, I've been busily updating my design pursuits and taking photographs (which I truly enjoy since I got my camera). Unfortunately, due to the many things that I have to do, I've been a bit neglectful on painting, so after I've gone through everything I need to finish, hopefully I'll go back to painting. Just today, Cargo Collective approved my request for building portfolio for my works. I received their response via email and I'm very excited to finally organize my previous drawings and sketches, and I'll be taking photos of the paintings I made last year.

I found some time this afternoon to make some stickers. I'm going to post them on public bulletin boards and shopping malls. The stickers' colors are pastel, and soft to the eyes, so I'm very much hoping to get more people who'll get interested and register for the library's ongoing project of correspondence lessons. I'm looking forward for more students to register for the studies.

Next, I'll be focusing on advertising my own fine art and design firm, White Edges. I'll be available for future projects and commissions.

Bougainvilleas

It was December last year when I was assigned to work at the library, and since then, every morning and afternoon, I look forward to having my daily walk and simply observe the beauty of the surrounding streets. Our place is not a particularly urban jungle with many buildings and high-class establishments, but it's rather simple: surrounded with shops, apartments, home subdivisions, and vacant lots. And beside the busy roads and highways, there are many trees which look like wide, and verdant canopies which envelope the concrete roads. These trees also have their own fall and springs seasons: there are specific months of the year when they would shed their leaves and replace them with young, new leaves; and some would bloom with many tiny yellow blossoms which would also fall to the ground while filling the air with an elegant fragrance.

Aside from these trees, I also like to look at the bougainvillea blossoms which are being used as hedges of a house nearby the library building. Colorful flowers are especially a rarity on street establishments. So having the privilege of seeing bloomfuls of magenta and purple while on my way to work and before I go home brings inspiration to may daily activities. It really brings joy to my eyes and my heart. Such a wonderful day! :)

Pretty in Pink

Last month, I bought my first digital camera, the Canon A1200, and since then, I had been truly enjoying using it. It was a very worthwhile addition to my everyday must-haves and though it was not truly that expensive, it certainly was much more than how it costs, and I'm glad to bring it with me especially when we travel and I need to capture the ordinary things, people and beautiful places we visit. Hopefully in the coming future, I can have my much awaited DSLR, but not in the meantime, that can wait.

For this month, there's a new addition to the family, and it's a pink hello-kitty keyboard. I know it looks very girly, with all the pink keys and white casing, which probably not coincides with the plain color motif of my room. But because I am beginning to like making changes lately, I chose to have it. My sister-in-law invited me to visit the little shop located on her hometown, so I agreed, and then, she suggested the pink keyboard for me. At first, I sort of hesitated. When I realized that since I'm using my keyboard everyday, why not have a change of look? So there, I got it, and now it sits quietly in front of my PC together with the hello-kitty alarm clock my sister-in-law gave me as a present a few months ago. I never expected to have such an understanding and helpful sister, because I'm so used to being the only girl in our house. Now I have sister. :-)

Sunday Sea Adventures (Olongapo, Zambales)

Nature Stroll after the Friday Prayer (Floridablanca, Pampanga)

Living in the city, with all its latest developments and technology, including interacting with many kinds of people everyday, accompanied by constant noise and pollution can be very tiring, interspersed with all kinds of complications, stress, and emotional baggage.

So I always long for the quiet and peaceful life of being with nature. As much as possible, I retreat to always being alone and simply marvel with the beauty of nature God created. I'd prefer silence and solitude and look at the soil with a little flower growing on it.

Today in Photos

I've been enjoying taking photos with my Canon! It allows me to experiment and see subjects in rather different perspectives. And it's very wonderful to capture the colors, textures, and light of  ordinary and everyday objects. There's really beauty everywhere, all you need to do is to have the eye to see it! :-)

Love, Maica

Me, Lately

For the past few days, I had been feeling quite unwell. I accidentally bit my tongue, and I didn't realized it until I felt that my tongue had been aching and bleeding for days because of a wound. It's taking quite longer for it to heal and somehow, I'm not really used to having a wound like this, it's very uncomfortable. On another note, lately, my appetite had been good so far and Alhamdulillah, I am gaining my normal weight. Also, I love to savor the taste of yummy recipes at home. I frequently make an iced drink refreshment every dinner with a secret ingredient (it starts with a letter g and ends with letter e).

I'd like to share to others my cheeriness, especially to my younger siblings. Laughing over hearty jokes when we go home makes a very light atmosphere for everyone. It's really an effort most of the time, and I'm doing it constantly to reinforce the habit of positivity. A lot of my time had been taken away and wasted over very annoying and nonsense trifles, worries, and unrealistic pessimism, which lately, I realized are of no benefit for me to become a better person.

I'm being particularly a bit laid back and like dressing up. My style reflects a lot more of cozy comfort and somewhat those of little girls, with flowers, and pink, and white, every now and then. I also like to wear high heels with stilettos, and am looking forward to buy high-cut boots. I have boots at home, but I dislike the loud clinking sounds that they make while I walk, especially over smooth floors. So for that matter, I'll be looking for noiseless, high-heeled boots.

Book-wise, I've been losing interest over reading fiction. I am much more into reading Islamic books which deal with practical reality, inspire me, strengthen my faith and bring me peace of mind. Among my reading list which I particularly like are: Don't Be Sad by Dr. Aidh Al Qarni, and The Noble Qur'an. My goal is to be a more peaceful, and God-fearing person, and I'd like to develop a stronger sense of discretion and conviction in choosing what is good and avoiding what is evil. Knowing oneself and ones purpose in life (to worship our Creator), is what truly brings my mind and heart to rest. It is what truly makes me happy. :-)

Sunday Dinner Again at Ikabud Restaurant

So my parents are really enjoying meals at Ikabud Restaurant, that almost every Sunday, we go there for dinner. And of course, with the authentic and affordable Filipino food being served, who could lose appetite? I'm such a loss for words, the meal was so delicious: two kinds of Kare-Kare (Seafood and Beef), Grilled Cat-fish with spicy vinegar sauce, Beef soup with vegetables, a side dish of Seafood Gambas, Onion Rings, and two pitchers of red iced tea! :-) The plates are empty and we could hardly finish our glasses!

After dinner, we went for a brief stroll at Astro Park. :-) Happy Sunday!

Wrap-Up