waiting for tomorrow's promise

I made this scrap early this year. I was so bored at home waiting for my husband and there were no shows on TV that were worth watching. So here, I came up with this one.


This scrap looks really serene. I love its simplicity and the quietness it sends. Credits: Adeyeo_garden kit , Fonts_festus & carpenter.

I promise to make more scraps in the coming days. I just finished meeting several deadlines at work. And I am so excited to make scraps of our Grande Island pictures!!!

sunsets & silhouettes

I am always fascinated with sunsets & silhouettes. It sends me an air of calmness. So I try to capture a photo of sunset whenever I can. And if I don't have my camera with me, I just adore the view in silence. I believe that all sunsets are beautiful, regardless of your camera. And so, here are my favorite shots of sunsets & silhouettes. Some are golden, some are red. I wanted the pictures to speak to a viewer. And I hope I was able to do just that.


Title: Wait In Vain What I love about this photo: The way the boat was partly shown. It looked as if the boat was waiting for someone. I also love the colors of this photo. (This was shot in a beach in Iba, Zambales during an immersion with the Aetas for my MA class.)


Title: Sunset Thoughts
What I love about this photo: The fisherman looking out in the horizon. It somehow created drama especially with the darkened areas where the focus seemed to be drawn on the sun. (Shot in the same beach in Iba, Zambales.)


Title: One's Moment Under Red Skies
What I love about this photo: The way the sky turned red while my husband sat alone drinking a bottle of mineral water. I must say that the image is truly breath-taking. (Shot in Talipanan Beach, Puerto Galera on Christmas eve of 2007.)


Title: A Treasured Moment
What I love about this photo: It's me & my husband kissing on Christmas eve under the red sky! The photo is priceless.(Talipanan Beach, Puerto Galera, Christmas eve of 2007.)


Title: Hope For The Children
What I love about this photo: The candidness it evoked. It kinda looks spooky because of the heavy clouds but somehow, the presence of my niece & nephew balanced the scene. (Christmas 2007 in my mom's hometown in Pampanga.)


Title: Darkness Fell
What I love about this photo: The silent drama it evokes. (That's my brother Matt during Christmas 2007.)

I hope to post more photos in the coming days. Oh, by the way, my family & I are off to Grande Island Resort in Subic this Friday until Sunday for my sister's birthday treat.


Look at it. Isn't the island so inviting! I grabbed this image from their website. I can't wait to shoot the beach, the sand & the sun in Grande Island myself!

here goes more calendars!

I'm back with my scraps! I created these calendars during the holiday season. Look! I'm so proud of myself! Haha!


February calendar credits:Sueli Colbert_my moment kit , Sueli Colbert_special kit, Nicole Kaltenecker_mille fleur


March calendar credits: Corina Nielsen_think pink kit , Sueli Colbert_my moment kit , Liz, Hutchison_beautifully mondane kit , Anne Langpap_june pea kit , font_windsong


April calendar credits: Kjersti_herbs and spices lime kit , Benthai_lace embellishments , Petit Moineaux_tendre moment kit , Amy Teets_sun porch kit , font_dear joe II


May calendar credits: Sande Krieger_mary mary quite contrary kit , Sande Krieger_it's time kit, Lorrie M_old photographs & memories kit, Amy Teets_sun porch kit


July calendar credits: Corina Nielsen_think pink kit , Petit Moineaux_tendre moment kit , LKScrapbookdesigns_natural star tag , fonts_carpenter, amano

You may be wondering where's the June calendar. Well, I got too excited in making the July scrap. Of course you know why! Haha, so I created it first. I'll post the rest of the calendars, June and September until December) next time. Cheers to us all!

2008 wit a bang!

You guys know how much we planned for our Baguio trip. But like what my good friend Meck said, even if you've planned for something, things just won't go your way sometimes.


So here goes the story of our short-lived Baguio trip. We arrived there 5am of Dec.30 and I was coughing and sneezing and had this freaky fever. It felt as if my body was yelling at me, telling me to take a rest from all the holiday parties. Gino knew the moment he saw my eyes that I can't stay that long in baguio anymore. Knowing how much I wanted to spend New Year there, he asked me to make the decision --- to stay or to go back to Manila. And so a decision was made. We were to go back home at 6pm of the same day. Goodbye to all the nice places I wanted to see. We just dropped by some shops to buy goodies for family & friends, of course some stuff for us too. I was also able to take few photos.


What was even worse was waiting for our busride in the cold bus terminal for 6 hours. ang daming tao pabalik ng Manila! And hell, it was freezing cold!!!


We got home at 5am, imagine our ride at 12mn-5am in the coldness of that bus. Anyway, Dec.31, we ate dinner & an early Media Noche in my family's house in Mandaluyong.


My bro-in-law drove me & Gino home at 11:30pm. And our first New Year's eve was spent at the roofdeck of our home! Whoa! Who would have thought it would be that fun! With all the fireworks' display everywhere.

And at 12:30, Gino & I ate our first meal for 2008 with a bottle of red wine. Sweet! The Lord was telling us that our first New Year didn't depend n a certain venue. It depended on us!

christmas the labski way

It was our first Christmas as Mr. & Mrs. Magtoto and we wanted it to be memorable. And it was! We spent it in Talipanan, Puerto Galera. We stayed at the Bamboo House Beach Resort.


It felt different there because it was so quiet, so unlike Whte Beach (although the sand wasn't as fine as the latter). It was the kind of celebration we prayed for --- quiet & romantic.=)


I was even able to take some really great shots! Here are some of my favorite.



After the PG christmas, Gino & I went straight to Pampanga to see my family. It took us 6 hours from PG to Pampanga, 3 hours to get to QC, an hour to have a quick lunch at Mcdo & 2 hours to get to Pampanga. It was really tiring. But when we finally got there, wow, food, food, food! My family prepared a cookout!


Here are some sunset shots I took while we were waiting for the food.

Browse our website to view our other pictures and you'll see how much fun we had!

preparing for baguio

The way we're planning things up, it's as if it's our first trip to Baguio. Well, actually IT IS! As a married couple, that is. We have been there a couple of times but I must say this trip is indeed worth looking forward to. It's our first New Year's eve together! And then minor problems happened. Like where we would stay because every hotel I contacted was fully booked! But with today's technology, of course I found us a place to stay. In short, salamat sa internet. Haha! My hubby must be so proud of me.

I'm listing down the places, hopefully, we'll visit.

1. Bell Church (I have heard so many good things about this place. Aside from it being so serene, they say you can also have your fortunes told.)

2. Cafe by the Ruins (Of course! We were so late the last time we were here. They were about to close already! And we weren't able to take pictures. Sad. I had their hot choco before. Now that I'm a coffee-drinker, I want to try the Ruins Coffee!) Photo courtesy of Aileen Apolo


3. Bridal Veil Falls (If time, weather and our wallets permit, we might be lucky enough to see it.)


4. Dominican Hill, Grotto, Maryknoll Convent and Baguio Cathedral (To say our gratitude to Him for the 2007 labski year!)


5. Botanical Garden (I want to see flowers! And plants! And everything that goes with it!)


6. Pizza/Cafe Volante (I heard they serve delicioso pizzas here at very good prizes.)
Photo courtesy of Aileen Apolo


7. PMA (We both haven't been here & I hope to see it this time.)

8. The Mansion, Wright Park and Burnham Park (Yeah, I know, baduy. Here are the reasons why these are part of the itinerary: I want to take good pictures of the Mansion. Gino hasn't tried horsebackriding yet. And it is only in Baguio that I get do Biking 101. You see, I'm a newbie biker. Blush.)

9. Mines View Park (Just because of the corn and grilled pusit! Oh, yum-yum!)


10. Camp John Hay (Why not take a look at this posh sanctuary.)

11. SM and Session (Baduy ulet. I haven't been to SM Baguio e. I know that isn't an excuse. But here's a good one: It's a must for Gino and me to go there because we have to buy our groceries for the Media Noche! Haha. Nice excuse. And oh! Of course I have to know how it feels like to be in a mall that has no aircon. Lastly, Session Road because it's the ukay haven.)


I'm so excited I can't sleep! Wait. Why are we planning so much about Baguio when Puerto Galera is our first vacation destination? Hahaha! Alright. PG planning tomorrow! Photos posted here (unless otherwise mentioned) and the information on the places courtesy of Juny P. La Putt and GoBaguio!