where did january go?

i have no idea...

well, vague ideas, yeah.

i think

i lost the days to

backlogs at work 

and cleaning up after christmas

and getting back into our usual routine

before the holidays confused

my body clock

and appetite.

while this winter has been mild and enjoyed by many

i preferred the snow.

coming from the tropics, 

snow hasn't lost its novelty for me yet.

this winter was all about 

mild temperatures

strong, gusty wind

dark clouds

and rain.

anyone can understand then why i'm mad about my mustard coat.

it cheers me up everyday.

really.

 today my laptop at work decided to break down.

so i went home because i have a backup of everything in my own laptop.

i loved it! 

i love being able to work from home.

it was dark as usual so i raised the blinds to let as much light in as i can.

before i know it, Tom perched on the window ledge watching the birds.

it helps when you always have a camera close by!

photo is from Daily Tom. 

(be a fan, says tom.)

obviously, i haven't had enough of my fruit basket yet!  

i found some old books at the charity shop last week.

i love old books.

and charles dickens.

looking forward for February!

i still haven't thought about my word for 2012.

everyone seems to have a word for 2012. 

i'll think about it tonight.

maybe.

anyhoo. have a good week everyone. 

xx

week 2

2012 officially started for me last week. yep back to work already.

it felt weird getting back into my work routine after a 2 week holiday!

they were 5 long, painful days which seemed to go on and on and on.

the worst is almost over though, and this new week should be easier.

i hope.

nothing like a new haircut to 'mentally' prepare for work! ^_^

my MIL and i went to our local salon to get our hair done. 

my hairdresser asked if i would like to have my hair blow-dried with curls.

or something like that.

i said absolutely! i've never had curls in my whole life.

i'm boring like that.

and how i loved the results! 

the curls lasted for about 2 hours max. ah well. 

there was a soft drizzle when we went out of the salon and we didn't bring an umbrella.

a girl asked me if i'd like a plastic cap to put over my new hair.

i said no, thank you. 

this is a picture of Tom from last autumn. 

that is the softest tummy in the whole wide world.

most of the time, i can't make him look into the camera.

but he was very tolerant this morning, he posed for me!

i just made him his very own facebook page, so if you love cats, click here:

Tom (still under construction, but there will be daily photo updates, cat quotes and cat vids!)

i was in Grafton St. last week looking for that tiny shop where i bought a small kuhn rikon knife

last year. i thought it was cute with the polka dots and pink sheath.

i loved it! for a small knife, it was surprisingly very sharp and perfect for chopping onions, carrots and parsnips even potatoes. 

anyways, long story short, i gave it to my MIL when she was here because she has fallen in love with it (yes it is possible, especially when your two fingers just recovered from being fractured).

well, i couldn't find the shop again instead i stumbled into Stock Design Store in South King St.

my jaw dropped.

it's a shopping heaven.

they sell stuffs you didn't know you needed.

and that is the story behind my fruit basket on the picture above.

sweet, isn't it?

♥

happy new year

i hope you all had a wonderful holiday.

ours was quiet and simple and beautiful.

we went through a lot this year and came out stronger, healthier, happier.

we still keep counting our little blessings...

before the christmas break, a friend baked me some fairy cakes. yes cupcakes in ireland are called fairy cakes.
the cutest plate evah is by Donna Wilson.

this is the first year i used my planner until the end of the year.
(this year i went for the soft cover and suprise, surprise it came with stickers! yes.)

we knew we would be very busy in December so we decided to put up the tree earlier. that's our supervisor on the chair, quality control is tops on his agenda.

this i have learned on writing christmas cards - put up the tree, light some scented candles, put on some old-fashioned christmas music and writing cards will never ever feel like a chore.

something new for me : christmas wreath on my dining room wall
sourced from Garrendenny Lane.

the husband was crazy over blue lights. obviously i'm not too difficult to convince.

this is the warmest winter i've had here so far.
but a cup of hot chocolate piled high with cream makes up for the lack of snow.
(plate and mug by Donna Wilson)


i still have holiday until the end of the week. yezzzz!
my mil flew in from amsterdam to spend the new year celebration with us.
and to join us in celebrating the husband's birthday.
we're going to the hairdresser on thursday...
my hair's really annoying me i think i'll have it chopped off again. she's getting a perm.
lastly, i'm a bit worried about going back to work next week - because it means i'll be terribly busy again  and i'm quite liking my long holiday.
on the other hand, the work waiting for me in the office is starting to nag at the back of my head.
so i was so glad when i found this quote yesterday, i'm officially declaring it as my inspiration for January:

“Three Rules of Work: Out of clutter find simplicity; from discord find harmony; in the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” ~ Albert Einstein

anyhoo, happy new year everyone!
this is my prayer -
may 2012 be a year of opportunities, may i never cease to look at the world with wonder, may i always pass on the kindness which i constantly receive from strangers and friends alike, may i keep dreaming and believing in myself, may my heart be continually grateful, may i always keep the faith.
i'm claiming blessings of good health, happiness, peace and overflowing love for all of us. ♥

a good week

[from a bouquet of peonies i bought sometime last May, they're still lovely dried]

i'm on my second week at work already and so far, i'm loving being busy and having the flexibility of going home early thus avoiding the rush at the bus stops in the afternoon. part of my schedule's flexibility is being able to keep my volunteer work every tuesdays. the boss' fine with it, the old ladies at the charity shop are happy to still have me, and i'm thrilled i'm able to keep both jobs so everything seems to be going really well so far! 

[from my flower box in the garden] 

for the first time in over 3 years, i watched the all-ireland football final match between Dublin and Kerry. everyone seemed to be talking about it the last few weeks so i tuned in to the telly last Sunday afternoon not wanting to be left out of course! it was very interesting to have a peek into the world of GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) as it is so much a part of the Irish culture and society. because Dublin has been our home for the last 3 years, i cheered for Dublin evidently. though a bit louder than how the husband and the cat wanted it to be especially at the last 7 minutes when the game's momentum turned and Dublin emerged victorious. i couldn't have picked a better timing!

i was able to do one wash load this morning before i left for my volunteer work but didn't have the time to hang them dry. i left them to the husband who apparently has a few days off from work and just enjoying his vacation la balcono. when i came home this afternoon he told me there's only one dress left in the line as it was still damp. i found my dress hanging like this. i can't imagine how our laundry line must have looked like earlier. someone was obviously in a hurry to get back to his playstation. 

it's terrible, isn't it? but the worst thing is, i laughed out loud when i saw it. 

in conclusion to my strangely happy start of a week,  here's a picture of tom who never fails to make us smile and giggle on a daily basis. we'd be lost without him! 

have a lovely week everyone.

xx

update!

[at home, tom is the boss] 

i'm finally back working again albeit part-time. which is good because it means i still have time to pursue what i really want to do - taking photographs. i don't know how long it will take me until i feel good about my own photographs but i'll get there. someday. anyhoo, with jobs so difficult to find if not impossible at all with the current economic climate, i'm very happy to be working again. every little penny counts! 

we finished early today at work so i walked through St. Stephen's Green for a bit of peace in the midst of the noise of the city. and to people-watch.  i ended up watching these cheeky pigeons awaiting bits from someone's lunch. very entertaining i must say!

lovely carriage outside St. Stephen's Green. i spy a wool blanket on the seat!

walking towards my bus stop, a huge chalkboard along O'Connell Street caught my eye. i just saw it today and i spent a good while reading. i looked it up online soon as i got home and learned that it's an I AM AFRAID  project by meandhimandyou with ABSOLUT Fringe. 

here's what it's all about (from their website):

==========================================================

Project Info
There is a feeling of fear and uncertainty in our country. As a result of the greed of a select few, the majority of the Irish public are afraid. They are afraid of losing their jobs, afraid of never finding a job, afraid of not being able to pay back loans, afraid their kids will have to emigrate, to name just a few. The Irish public face many challenges today, as a result there is an urgent need for radical change, new ideas, imagination and inspiration in Irish society. How much stronger would the city feel if everybody shouts their fears. Therapy on a city scale.

==========================================================

true, true...couldn't agree more!

and for our final picture of the day:

have you tried blogging with a cat sitting on your lap, with his head resting on your left wrist as you type? this cat thinks my lap is his couch. unfortunately i tend to agree with him most of the time! O_o

i guess i need to order chinese now, the family is starving!

xx

not so random...

five weeks ago, i attended a short course at the Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar. the course ran for 4 weeks, for a few hours every Saturday. each class usually has a maximum of 6 places, but there were only 3 of us in our batch, all girls.  one was a young Irish girl, the other a lovely Mexican girl and of course, i'm filipino. shows a lot the diversity of Dublin's society these days. we had the nicest teacher in the world too, and how he has opened the complex world of photoshop for me! i started out completely clueless about photoshop, and i'm quite proud i have finally grasped the basics of it. Masks and Layers scare me no more, thanks to JP.

i'm not so sure how it happened but after our first class, my Mexican classmate S and I walked out together from the gallery, wandered through the farmers market of Temple Bar, sat down in a coffee shop and talked over cups of espresso and cappuccino for three hours. if my phone hadn't beeped with a worried message from my husband why i'm not home yet, we wouldn't have realized how late it was.

we did exactly the same routine x 3 more saturdays. something about her that just clicked with me and vice versa, it's amazing! maybe it's our love for photography that connected us, maybe it's our cultural background both sprinkled with Spanish influence, or maybe it's because we're both foreigners here, i don't know. all i know is that our feelings for kinship is just so strong we decided to meet again last saturday, despite the class being finished already. we're meeting again of course, and collaborating even for a project. i am excited for the possibilities of the things we can craft together!

it's not everyday that you forge a friendship with someone who has exactly the same interests as you do, who inspires you and at the same time is so much fun to be with. no sir. that a special friendship was born over random talks of apertures and f-stops, adjustment layers and lightings...over mexico and the philippines, a smattering of spanish words and english translations, of love stories and friendships back home - my faith is renewed that the world is not so bad after all. 

here's another one who makes my world much, much sweeter...

{tom on my notebook pretending to blog}

have a fab week everyone! i'm off to volunteer work tomorrow and anticipating for a fantastic news when i get home. ta! xx

lomo love

{me & my favorite dress again + lomo smena}

film is still very much alive.

while i love my faithful digital Nikon, the old soul in me constantly longs for old school photography. with old, i just mean photography as they knew it in the last 50 years or so and not as old as this; a great article by the way about The Wonderful World of Early Photography from the archives of Neatorama. 

that said, the 35mm film camera i won on an auction in ebay indulged my guilty pleasures.

the following photographs were taken by my Lomo Smena last winter.

the excitement+anticipation building up as i slowly use my 36 exposures is just priceless.

recently, the husband got me a new toy through the wonderful (read: inexpensive) world of Lidl. a negative scanner! now i can just get my roll of film developed at the camera shop, dash home and scan them through my scanner. shallow i know, but happy days! ^_^