country drive

sometimes when the world seems to get the better of me, or just when i'm weary of the hustle and bustle of city living, a short scenic drive in the country is all i need to revive my worn-out soul or lift my sagging spirits.

all photos taken inside our moving vehicle. of course, my hubby was behind the wheel while i was behind the lens.

dejavu? well, i just have a love affair with clouds. i can't get enough of them. and i think the clouds provide much-needed contrast to an otherwise boring country scene.

mellow yellow

inspired by my friend's (jopie) post about the color yellow, and the happy feelings conjured by such color, (she had a beautiful yellow chrysanthemum on her blog), i decided to dig out old photos of my erin wearing yellow, because i've always thought yellow suits her well, and these are some of my fave shots of her.

yellow was always my favorite color when i was a kid (it's lime green now), but i don't think i carry yellow very well, but nonetheless, yellow is such a happy color. i never realized how much a color affects your mood or how you feel until i saw that bright yellow crysanthemum. maybe because the flower also happens to be my birth-flower (november).

my erin has a very happy disposition, always bubbly and smiling... that's why i think yellow suits her well...she's sunny and lively...but mellow at the same time.

a lot of people think she's a mini-me. well, she has my sense of humor...(and the round face, like that of the sun).

black and white

i am still in high spirits over finding my supposed-to-be missing files. i scanned through images after images, and i came across these ones of my kids. they were taken sometime during the colder months. i thought i'd try the black and white treatment because eventhough sometimes it feels like everything is only written in black and white, i know in my heart, my world is rich in colors because of my kids.

focused on something

there are times when they can't seem to stop bickering, but when they have moments like this, they simply light up my life and color my world

the cam focused on her hand rather than her face. it somehow draws my attention to her reflection

i believe i can fly

it is indeed true that good things happen to those who believe. things are looking up for me. for one thing, my nephew fiddled with my pc yesterday, and discovered all my missing files hidden under a different user name, the reason why i couldn't find them. he also managed to install programs that needed re-installing. it means i don't have to buy a new pc after all, and it's even working a lot better this time. plus the fact that i am just feeling good about myself. and a big bonus that my hubby looked after the kids this morning so i could get a restful sleep after night duty just made my day.

so i am still looking up. and i will continue to do so...

i've always loved the song "i believe i can fly" because of its very strong positive message, and because i am feeling good, i want to sing out loud...

"i believe i can fly, i believe i can touch the sky. i think about it every night and day, spread my wings and fly away."

looking up

today, i feel like looking up to the heavens, because i am hopeful that there are many beautiful surprises in store for me, especially after the "gloom" of last week. it wasn't just my pc bugging me, a lot of things seemed to have dragged my spirits down the last few days, but i feel the dark cloud has lifted, and i want to raise my head up again... ( and literally speaking, the heavens did not disappoint. i managed to take a couple of shots of beautiful cloud formations today, but it will have to wait because i haven't uploaded them yet)...

so, i will have to contend with these old pictures i took in sydney... the surprises you get when you don't fail to look up...

nurses walk- this got me excited!!! how special of us nurses to be given due recognition!

the soft glow of lamplights against the earth-toned brickwall...because i am drawn to lamps... and especially these ones, because they are suspended up high, which adds more character and romance to this beautiful old building

blur

my head is spinning... my mind still a blur! while i may have fixed (or so i thought) my pc, little did i know that i only managed to restore the system in its factory settings. and this means, unfortunately for me, losing all my files and programs. the only good thing about it is, internet speed is at its best, because the pc isn't loaded with programs to run. but still, a part of me seemed to have died, because i feel that some of my pictures and documents i will never ever recover. and the task of trying to download and/or install all the programs again is so overwhelming, not to mention CONFUSING!

anyway, these are "accidental" shots i took of a lamppost at picnic point, taken about three weeks ago. because i wasn't using a tripod, and i set the camera on night mode, it came out blurry, as i couldn't keep my hands from shaking. i was about to delete these ones when i thought the blurry effect is almost dramatic. and apt to how i feel.

the promise of a new day

i have much to rejoice tonight. i managed to restore my computer back to its working order after three days of getting frustrated, because i couldn't access my files; much more the internet. i panicked, i got upset and i was on the verge of depression (hahaha... just exaggerating!). after all, my pc was also on the verge of a big breakdown. i hope it's not about to crash on me...i should save all those photos asap. i'd like to think i've learned my lesson well. anyway, just those three days without the internet made me realize how much dependent we are on modern technology. i grimaced at the thought of going to the bank rather than doing my internet banking in the comfort of my own home...we should think what our great-great grandparents did in their time of "lamparilla". anyway, i am very grateful that i finally have internet access again and i can blog again. i didn't think i'd feel complete again...(exag again!!!)...i am also grateful that i managed to restore it myself rather than be at the mercy of over-charging IT technicians...of course there are those who are honest, but the problem is where and how do you find them when the yellow pages seem to scream a lot of them. it's hard to tell.

anyway, i have posted here some twilight pics we took of that day we went to the japanese garden. on our drive home, i just had to ask my hubby to stop so i could capture these. unfortunately, i only shot them from our car's window without a tripod, thus the blur...they're actually not my favorite pictures because they're not sharp, but tonight, i decided to post them anyway, because i feel that they're very apt...knowing that these photos promise us a new day and allow us to let go of the day that is past ...that's how i am feeling... there's this surge of new life...and even on those times that i didn't have the internet, i was hanging on to the hope that tomorrow will come, and everything will be alright... and that the frustration, i will eventually be able to leave behind with the setting sun.

the toowoomba japanese garden

this is one of my favorite parks in toowoomba, about 10minutes drive from our place. here, kids find the perfect playground, lovers get romantic, parents find solace, and visitors get drawn to come back over and over again...

the little tree in the middle of the creek

the pagoda and its reflection

the bamboos that remind me of the place i grew up in

the little hut, providing shade and much relief from the heat of the summer sun

girls on a bench

still at the japanese garden, my girls found this bench, and decided to take a little rest...after all, feeding the ducks was such a big task...

now, resting is a must!

shoot away while they're not looking...nothing like a candid shot!

and because i want to try the drama of "black and white"

feeding the duckies

last friday, we drove to the japanese garden to feed the ducks. we brought day-old bread and some chips to throw to the ducks. the kids enjoyed the afternoon so much, they didn't want to go home yet even when it got already dark.

erin throwing out some food to the eagerly awaiting duckies

erin still asking for more food to throw while aizel is busy handing out the food scraps to the ducks

the girl by the creek

Finally, a big photo! I would like to take this opportunity to thank a wonderful woman, a kindred spirit (we were never really good friends back then, when we attended the same high school...but only recently discovered we shared a lot of interests through the net), a person I have just begun referring to as a FRIEND, and actually mean it...because in her, I have found a special kind of friendship; one that does not require us to be hanging out together in the same city or country nor do we have to be constantly on the phone talking. She is the inspiration for this new look. The driving force for me to better my craft (if I may be so privileged to call it that). A person so thoughtful (to think of me and how to improve my blog) and so generous to actually spend time sending me a couple of emails detailing the instructions on how to enlarge my photos. I am so deeply touched, because it only means that she is one selfless person for her to bother and go through all the trouble. And with that, I am very honored indeed to be called her friend. And so, I am very grateful...and I truly appreciate the very person that you are, Mrs. Josephine "Jopie" Pestillos-Quijada. THANK YOU VERY MUCH.

flowers

lately, it has been very very hot. summer has definitely arrived, and it has kept its promise of being the warmest season of the year. while i used to love summer when i was much much younger because it meant beachtime, or what i used to refer as the sea, sand and sun season, i cannot seem to bear the heat anymore. perhaps, i am getting too old now. and i miss spring, when it is cool but not cold, warm but not hot...and everything seems refreshing. when it brings with it the promise of hope, as seen in every budding flower. a time when flowers are in perfect bloom, and beauty just surrounds you...so, i just had to dig up those old spring photos i took of last season...to remind me there will be some relief to this heat.




"Each flower is a soul opening out to nature."- Gerald de Nerval

"The earth laughs in flowers."- Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Flowers leave some of their fragrance in the hand that bestows them."- Chinese proverb

"What a desolate place would be a world without a flower! It would be a face without a smile, a feast without a welcome. Are not flowers the stars of the earth, and are not our stars the flowers of heaven?"- A.J. Balfour

sisters at play

they loved that afternoon we spent at kearney's historical park. we went for mini steam train rides and they ran around with their friends. and then, when our friends decided to leave before us, because i still wanted to stay and take some photos of my girls, the two obviously enjoyed the many sights...


fascinated by the log...

thinking of something else to do now...

another log, another seat...

looking out far beyond the creek...

by the creekside

these are actually photos taken last month at kearney's historical park, by the creekside. they are of the same bacth as the previous photos of enrica-arvianne i already posted.

the girl on the log

she loved that flower

loving the wind against her face

curious child