Yesterday, my friend Humps and I went to the Divine Mercy Shrine in Marilao, Bulacan to hear mass, say our prayers, and of course - take pictures. He uses a DSLR (Canon EOS 450D), and he was very kind enough to let me use it. I took lots of pictures - trying different settings, and here are a few of my favorite shots:

Stress balls? Looks like I am going to need one as I go through the day. Using DSLR can be stressful for a first-time user like me. Hahaha.

Lamps. There was this man-made cave in the grounds of the church, and I wanted to play with these lamps, but I really had a hard time adjusting the shutter speed, ISO, and aperture. It was difficult for me to use a DSLR, too, because I was wearing eyeglasses and through the viewfinder, I was able to frame this one good, but when I hit the shutter, parts of the glass frame was captured from the right side. Ugh.

Mom and son. Humps and I were taking a rest near the adoration chapel, and a family came near us. Humps asked me to take a picture of the kid, and this is how I captured it.

I am not sure if these images are good enough, but hey, it was my first time to use a DSLR, and I am using the manual mode! Humps didn't want me to use the auto mode because he said it made no sense if I would use DSLR then I would be running on auto. He had a good point.

But then again, my head was aching real bad after. I guess it was the heat, the lack of water and the fact that I had to close my other eye as I look through the viewfinder, but I had no regrets. It was a great day. Thanks a lot, Humps! And thanks also for the newspaper section you gave me about photography. It would help me a lot.

Well, jumping to DSLR from point and shoot is still impossible for me, but like what I said to Humps - at least inch by inch I am learning. So when the time comes for me to use my own DSLR, I pretty much know how to operate it.

*** Jenn ***

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

I was supposed to be in SM Megamall attending an event last Sunday, but I suddenly felt a little sick Saturday night, so I decided not to leave the house. I then received a message from Andre asking if I will attend the SFC CLP (Christian Life Program), so I spent my Sunday visiting the CLP even if I wasn't feeling 100%. Well, somehow I felt much better (aside from the sore throat).

Andre and I just arrived in time. We helped with the music ministry, and because two of the facilitators were absent, Louchie and I became the facilitators for one of the groups. It was already Talk 4 - Repentance and Faith. A very heavy topic, and we had a very great discussion. Jacque and Daisy took care of the snacks - as they celebrated their birthday a few days before. They served very delicious pancit bihon!

After the CLP, we went to Louchie's house just to unwind, talk, laugh, and eat ice cream. I had the Chuckie Drumstick... a small one compared to the typical ice cream drumstick, but so delicious! Thanks a lot, Louchie!

This was the first time I saw them again after the Metro Manila Conference. I missed them so much!

*** Jenn ***

The week has been a lax one for me, but if there's one big blessing for me this week, it would have to be knowing a very wonderful person who has given me a great advice. Going on water therapy.

My late father already told this to me before, but I wasn't able to sustain it, or I wasn't that eager to do it. My new friend has been an enthusiastic one in being with me every step of the way, and for that I am most thankful.

Since this week, I start my day by drinking water. It really does help in cleansing the system, but at first I admit I had a hard time. I would feel too bloated that I would throw up, and on my first day the water has made me feel I have a full tummy yet I am feeling hungry. Day 2 was optimistic for me, and now I am getting the hang of it. The biggest thing this has done for me was it was able to suppress my appetite. There were instances that I would crave for some food, but when I am already holding it, I would feel "lazy" to eat it. =)

The other day, my new friend has told me to junk the junk food and soda and start eating more fruits. I went to the market and bought apples and rambutan. Well, eating fruits will be a hard habit for me to do as I am not really into fruits. I eat a whole lot of vegetables, but I am very picky on fruits. Tonight, I had an apple for dinner. Not bad considering that I had a heavy lunch.

I am liking this change. When I had my first apple, I plurked about it asking if I am having a fever as I am not really like that. I have a big appetite. I love to eat my carbohydrates... and I am eating apple?!? And this afternoon, I cooked spaghetti as snacks for the construction workers who were fixing our terrace's ceiling, and although spaghetti is one of my most favorite foods, I was able to resist to cook only good for them.

As much as I am thankful for this change, I am hoping I could sustain it. I am afraid to fail again... I hope in two years time, I am a truly a changed person.

*** Jenn ***

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

When Halie and I met last Saturday, we were the very first ones who arrived in La Mesa Ecopark. While we were waiting for our companions, we just roamed around the place, took pictures of things that caught our interest. When we met with our companions, we took some pre-nuptial pictures of Joeffrie and Liza, then afterwards Halie and I decided to stay in the park to shoot more pictures. We took lots of pictures that day, but here are just some that I took using my itty bitty trusty point and shoot camera:


A caterpillar. I seriously was happy I didn't touch this post, if I did, ouch! I will be needing a pool of calamine lotion.


White on white. There was a koi pond inside the park, and since there were some flowering plants, it attracted some insects, including this butterfly. At first I told Halie I won't be shooting this butterfly because I know it would not spread its wings, but when this critter landed on a flower near where I was, I didn't hesitate anymore to take a picture of it.


Near the pond was a lagoon, and covering the fence was this viney plant with cute pink flowers. This cute little butterfly landed in one of the flowers, but because there were quite some vines hindering the good view, I had a difficult time taking its pictures. I managed to sneak my camera lens through some vines and leaving it up to faith, I took a shot. The flower was a bit blurry, but I was happy I was able to take a decent shot of the owl-like butterfly.


Back at the pond, there were a whole lot of dragonflies, too, but most were too far from us to take a picture of. I managed to grab a stem of the plant to make the dragonfly closer to me, and using my other hand, I took this picture.


There were a lot of dragonflies like this, too, but most were reddish in color. When we saw this brown one in one of the plants, we quickly took a snapshot of it. Sadly, this was the only one I took of its kind, for they would fly too quickly, too!

Actually, I felt really bad about the dragonflies - I wasn't at all satisfied with the shots I took, but I guess this wasn't a great time for me to take dragonfly pictures.


Late in the afternoon, we went to visit the butterfly trail. There were a few butterflies inside the tent, but we were happy that they were friendly enough to pose as models for us. Unfortunately for us, the rain fell, but still, we had a great time.

As much as Halie and I liked shooting pictures of the couple (which was the primary reason why we were there), we had a grand time shooting the insects. We were tired walking around the park, but we were satisfied.

*** Jenn ***

Afternoon of Monday, our computer's monitor went dysfunctional. It already acted like that a month before, but we were able to revive it. Sadly last Monday, no matter how we try to revive it, we will just see a flat line in the monitor screen. Pfft! For two days, we have no computer to use, but brother can't pinpoint if the problem was the monitor or the socket at the back of the CPU. I really thought it would be the end of our computer, but I am so thankful that this morning, I found the way to make the monitor work - keeping it cool.

Anyway, there are so many things to be thankful for the past week, so here comes the list:

• Being a part of a group of talented photographers and being able to shoot my first pre-nuptial pictures.
• Photowalking with Halie once again.
• Setting foot in La Mesa Ecopark for the first time.
  

• Shooting butterflies, dragonflies, and other small creatures again.
• Meeting a wonderful inventor who promised to give me his macro lens for point and shoot cameras for free in two months time.
• Meeting a new friend who has keeping me laughing for a week now.
  
• Finishing a new scrapbook layout.
• Good weather.
  
• Painting my toenails blue!
• Eating the foods I crave for.
• Hearing the phrase "I love you" again. I just love it!
  

• Coron, Palawan trip in October pushes through.
• People appreciating my efforts in photography.
  
• Me, appreciating and loving myself despite my flaws and shortcomings.

Have a happy week ahead, stay happy!

*** Jenn ***

Long before I became a blogger, traveler, and wanna-be photographer, I was a scrapbooker. Funny that when I had more pictures to scrap, I suddenly lost the mojo to scrap it. Some of my friends recommended I do digital layouts instead of the traditional paper scrapbooks, but in my all honest opinion, I find it hard to do digital layouts!

Anyway, I realized that it was high time for me to go back to scrapbooking, and since I am doing a scrapbook version of my travels, I decided to go back in time and start with the pictures from 2008. I still have pictures from 2007 unscrapped, but my main focus right now is to finish this project. Maybe, if the need calls for it, I'll dig through my 2007 pictures. =)

This layout is originally made for the Pinoy Scrapbookers' Kaya! Challenge. Leica, challenged us to create a layout with three photos of ourselves. Like what I have said on my previous post, my life saver for this challenge was the album of print outs mom handed to me a while back. I was happy that I saw three pictures with me in it, so it was what I used for the layout.

The picture dates back to March 2008, and was taken in San Juan, La Union. Journaling for this layout reads,"Coming home after our visit to the cemetery, brother and I decided to come with our Aunt and cousins back to their house for us to take pictures of the tobacco and corn fields. It was supposed to be for a cell phone photo contest I wished to join, but I think I got more than what I hoped for. Aside from taking the pictures, I was able to enjoy playing in the haystack with nieces Michelle and Ian, and I was also able to herd goats. A great day, indeed!"

As for the materials used, I seriously can't distinguish all - for my papers were quite old, some I bought from scrapbook sales, some were given to me by the ever nice and generous scrappers, but I do know some papers were SEI, Cherry Arte, and Making Memories. The font for the "countryside" is Syncronous, and the font for the journaling is Century Gothic. I also used DMC thread for the stitching, and a jelly letter sticker (the letter "J" in the middle of the flower) from Craft Express.

I am a very lax scrapbooker and I don't know when I can make another scrapbook layout, but I do hope that I will be able to finish this project before the year ends.

Have a great week, everyone!

*** Jenn ***

ps - I apologize for the very bad scan. Our scanner hasn't been used for the longest time, and no matter what I do, the scans turn out like this.