Free As The Wind

One of the wonderful places that we visited from our trip to Ilocos last April was the Bangui Windmills in Ilocos Norte. Yes! We have those here in the Philippines! :-) According to one of the locals, the Bangui Windmills are the main suppliers of electricity in the province of Ilocos. If I remembered it correctly, there were around 20 towering windmills in the area, all facing the sea (the locals say it is already the South China Sea). The sight of these windmills was really majestic and breathtaking. Being under one of these gigantic windmills and feeling the sea breeze through your hair and face, one would have an exhilirating feeling of freedom. For all those visiting the northern region of Ilocos, the Bangui Windmills is a must-see landmark.

Journalling: As Free As the Wind.. Bangui Windmills, Ilocos Norte, Philippines, April 2010.

Credits for this layout: Escape Kit by Jayedid Designs; Only by Request font and Fontmoochers font both available at Kevin and Amanda.com;

Memories at Bantay Bell Tower

One of the "highlights" of my somehow-long vacation a few days ago was our trip to Ilocos province, a province located at the northern part of Manila. My mom, my brother, and I went there as part of a travel group which was handled by Travel Factor. We departed Manila on the evening of April 29, and arrived at Ilocos at 6AM of April 30. Our first stop was the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity St. Augustine Parish Church and the Bantay Bell Tower. It was an old church (which dates back to 1590 when the Spanish colonized the country. Coming near or going inside the church and the bell tower, one can see that both are made of solid bricks - a trademark of old Spanish architecture.

It is unfortunate that we don't have a picture inside the bell tower because my Mom had a hard time walking and climbing the long flight of stairs. Nevertheless, we had fun taking serious and wacky pictures (like the one in the layout), having the bell tower as our background.

Watch out for more pictures from our Ilocos trip in my succeeding layouts! It's my way of sharing with my readers/viewers the places they can visit here in the Philippines.

Journalling: MEMORY is a way of holding on to the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose. || Mama * Cherick * Philip - Bantay Bell Tower - Ilocos Sur, Philippines - April 30, 2010.

Credits for this Layout: Starstruck Kit by List West Designs and Digi Diva; MemoriesWAFreebie by Agnieszkag;

May 2K10 Calendar Layout

How fast time flies. My one-and-a-half weeks vacation has come to an end. Back to work. Back to reality. Nevertheless, I can say that I had a great time during that short respite from work. I was able to process and obtain my Solo Parent ID (yehey for additional 7-days paid leave from work!!), was able to have a foot spa, was able to watch Ironman2, was able to travel up north to Ilocos (one of the northern provinces here in the Philippines), and most importantly, I was able to have some quality time with my family and my son, Zion.

Now back to my digital scrapping world. :-) The month of May is usually devoted to one of the most important women in our lives - our mother. Today, March 9, is Mother's Day. For this reason, I chose my Mom as my model for my May 2010 calendar layout. My mom went with me during my trip to Ilocos last April 30. Despite having a hard time walking, she managed to take care of her 2 children (my brother and I) during that loooong travel to Ilocos. One of the first places we've visited was the Bantay Bell Tower in Ilocos Sur. It was really a landmark that should never be missed when one visits the said province. More Ilocos pictures to come in my next layouts!! :-)

Credits for this layout: Family Ties Collab Kit by Jak-ART-a Scrappers; Love WordArt by Thaty Borges Designs; Calendar Template by Peppermint Creative;

Put Your Head on my Shoulder

I am on the 3rd day of my vacation which started last Monday. As I've mentioned in my previous post, I took some time off from work, to relax and unwind, to take care of some things here at home, and of course to spend some quality time with my son, Zion. I remember the last time we had a real mother-and-son bonding time was during his Moving Up activity from Toddler Playschool. He was awarded the Little Mr. Newscaster award because of his fondness for talking and telling interesting and funny stories to his teachers and classmates. After the school activity, we had a small celebration. It was also my brother's graduation from high school, so my Mom and I decided to have a sort-of double celebration - for my brother's graduation from high school, and Zion's moving up from Toddler Playschool to the much formal level of Nursery (this coming June). Since it was loooong and hectic day, Zion was really exhausted at the end of the small party. As expected, after all the hustle and bustle and his being hyperactive, he would end up carrying him, as he slowly dozes off to sleep while resting on my shoulder.

Journalling: Always remember this moment.

Credits for this layout: Sahabat Lama Kit by Jak-ART-a Scrappers; Moments WordArt by Agnieszkag;

Trust Yourself

Last Monday (April 26) was the start of my one-and-a-half vacation leave. Well, it was supposed to be a 2-weeks leave from work, and we were supposed to visit some relatives in Canada. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we had to postpone the trip to next year. It would be quite a hassle on my part, since I wasted PHP6000 (approximately $120) just to get this Canadian visa. Oh well. I am hoping that I could still get one next year.

As a consolation, I still took my vacation leave. I just shortened it to a week and a half (instead of 2 whole weeks). I still have a lot of things to take care of, including my Solo Parent ID, my son's enrollment, and of course, a short trip to a local spot here in the Philippines. I took leave off from work, as a reward to myself - a much-deserved reward after going through some stressful and grueling things at work. Well, I hope that this long break from work would give me some time to unwind and spend some time for myself and my family.

Journalling: You can Trust Yourself. Other people's opinion are driven by their needs and emotions - not by magical insights about your worth.

Credits for this layout: Back N Why Kit by Caroline B. available at KreativeKreationsKorner; Photomasks Pack2 by Brouille; WordArt by Bethany Elegant WordArt

Little Angel of Love

Zion is excited nowadays. Aside from it's summer, and he is on vacation, his birthday is just a few days from now. He will be turning four years old. Usually, the family takes him to church to attend a thanksgving Mass, then we treat him to a small "gimmick" or dinner wherein noodles or what we commonly call "pancit" is always part of our order. We do this, as a superstition or a family tradition, so that the birthday celebrant will have long life and a lot more birthdays to come.

The picture used in this layout was taken during Zion's birthday celebration last year. It was sort of a candid shot, taken without him knowing it. He's not really in deep thought in this picture, he was just starting to get tired and sleepy. :-)

Journalling: Little angel of Love...

Credits for this layout: Sweet Childhood Collab kit by Jak-ART-a Scrappers; Between Heaven & Earth Wordart by Feli Designs.

It's A Boy Thing

One of the recent places we've been to last Holy Week was the Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. If you're that kind of person which loves old Philippine architecture, then this is the place for you. It features famous old houses, mostly from the Luzon area, which were reconstructed in the said resort. The owner, as he was described by our tour guide, was sort of "house collector" - wherein he buys old houses, bring down the house piece by piece, and reconstruct it in the said resort. Talk about an expensive hobby! Tee hee!! :-)

Well, it appears that my son Zion, my brother, and my cousin had a great time, as seen in the photos used in this layout. They may be boys, and may be quite indifferent while I was marveling at the old houses, but they sure know how to appreciate good places (and good photo venues) when they see one.

Journalling: It's a Boy thing...

Credits for this layout: Boys2Men Kit by Snowsmoon Designs; BoysBoys WordArt by Kellie's Kreations;

April 2K10 Calendar Layout

For my April Calendar layout, I chose my son Zion (nicknamed Zeegyboi) to be featured in the calendar layout. Aside from April being his birth month, Zion always watches whenever I create my digiscrap layouts. When I feature other people in my layouts, he would tug at me, and say "Mommy, lagay Zion picture!" (Mommy, put Zion's picture). So this time, I called him while I was creating my April calendar layout, and asked him whose picture is on the layout? He gleefully answered, "ZION!!". So to my dear son, it's your time to shine in this month's calendar layout. Advance happy birthday!! :-)

Journalling: it's your time to shine... Zeegyboi

Credits for this layout: New Beginnings Collab Kit by Jak-Art-A Scrappers