This is what I am capable of doing .. to offer prayers.   May you join me in prayers  for all the people dead and the  living in Japan. .

May all the souls of the  people who perished in this accident in Japan
rest in peace always..inspite of the trauma they underwent in their last
moments.  May the families of these people find comfort, peace in times of great grief.
And may they rest with the thought that their dead loved ones had finally  joined their Creator.

May all those who were injured will heal fast and recover in the best possible manner
Shower them with peace and that they may all overcome their distress
Whatever destruction brought about by the quake and tsunami, let us not lose hope

And let us pray that Japan will rebuild very soon.

Don’t take this pronouncement seriously… but I think in a way he is…. Why I said so?  Long before he took interest in painting, he was already into photography.    The height of his love for taking pictures was in the late 1990′s when during those times, his camera was those that use film negatives for developing.   His hobby brought him to many places  and his subjects were all interesting.   There was a time when he was out the whole day in the fields patiently waiting (according to him) for a frog to pee…. Ridiculous!  Is there really such a thing as that moment of a frog going to pee…and how would you know that creature will do it that very moment?   Maybe my brod was just  ”pulling our leg”.   Mom was really upset because we were frantically looking for him for a day and that was his reason….he was out waiting for a frog to pee….so, can you blame me for not giving it a second thought of his being eccentric?

I am showing you the early days of his photography….

Maybe this was the time when he was waiting for the frog to pee!  lol

Well, I believe that the artist in him somehow make him kinda weird (or a genius in his field).  Aside from photography, he is also a good painter.   He excels in both art medium.   He is gifted with God given talents and he is using it to good use.   He is getting monetary rewards not only from all his paintings sold in exhibits but he also won recognition and prizes for his numerous good oil paintings and photography as well.   Though, he is only dependent on his paintings to feed his family, still he is much blessed because 2 of his 3 children took after his artistic skills; the eldest finished Fine Arts major in Advertising Arts and the girl is in her last year in Film making course.

still young then and weird in a way (but good looking isn’t it)

Well that’s how life is  for my brother… Art is his passion….

Let us offer prayers for the people living in Japan for we’ve heard from the news just now about the 8.9 magnitude earthquake that also triggered tsunami which is presently creating havoc in the lives and properties in that county.  Let us also pray that all the neighboring countries in the Pacific region will be spared from more damage and they will be alerted and evacuated soon before tsunami hit their place.  The wrath of Mother Nature is underway and only prayers will help us survive our ordeal!

Let us keep the faith.  Got to sign off… need to watch the latest news about the quake.

Reghann is the daughter of my cousin who lives in California.  Such a refreshing face and the innocence exudes in her young face.  This is her first Ash Wednesday celebration for a Christian child like her.  It was the beginning of Lent for Catholics and the ash that was marked on  her forehead signifies penitence and mortality. It helps freshen the memory of the people about Ashes to ashes (meaning we come from dust, we return to dust),  It was yesterday that Lenten season begun and Catholics all over the world will engage in abstinence and fasting to meet their obligation of penance that is required by the church.

Children are not to required to observe the rules of Lent

There should be mutual respect… we should respect each other’s religious views and beliefs…..whether you are a Christian or a Muslim brother….

Right after we had finished from the Embassy with our passport renewal, we headed to Outback Steakhouse to sample their meals.  I’ve been hearing about the restaurant from my colleague. Very timely indeed because the place is just few minutes drive from the embassy.  This is it it!

The ambiance is good,  the floor to wall to ceiling designs give the restaurant a unique look and feel of the place.  the waiters are very attentive and well trained.  The menu consists of beef and steak, chicken, ribs and pasta items.  It was a pleasant dining experience and we will come back for more.  This is definitely an alternative steakhouse restaurant because we already have outgrown other steak houses in the city.

One thing we’ve noticed is how this bread looked like and how it was presented.   Lol.  like a sword of Lancelot??? In fairness, though the color of the bread is a bit odd, it tasted good with butter as spread.

The salad is fresh with Thousand Island dressings but uses serving spoon (maybe to scoop the dressing)

Our soups are Creamy Onion soup (surprisingly, it tasted good) and zucchini soup (hmmm.. fine)

I ordered what they called Chicken Barbie (where’s Ken????) with mashed potato

Papa had a medium rare steak with mashed potato.  Notice the serving of their steak is just enough… small serving for my Papa’s big appetite!

Our overall impression!  Good because of bold flavors, moderate servings, affordable prices, good quality service…  Definitely we will come back for more!

Hubby and I took a day off from work today to renew our passports in the embassy.  As expected, the consular office is jampacked with my fellow citizens who mostly were there to renew their travel documents.  Without wasting any time, as soon as we had secured the forms, filled up, we patiently joined others in a snail paced queue.  The processing took hours, from the queue to the verification counter, to cashier to the encoding room where you are photographed after your data are encoded in their computer.   We finished almost noon time and I was sure glad that the lady still accommodated me because she too was going to leave for her lunch break.

If I remember it right, it was year 2008 when the new Machine Readable Passport (MRP) was implemented.  The new e-passports they said has  special features that includes hidden encoded images and others to prevent tampering.

Well, that was a  welcome change!

I am trying to trim down a bit because few months from now hubby and I will be celebrating our Silver wedding Anniversary… Since, we are planning to have a grand renewal of vows … I will see to it that it will be a formal party, the ladies in their gowns and the gentlemen dashing in their coat and tie.  Afterall, being married to the same man for 25 years is really an event to celebrate.   So, to start with, I have to live a healthy lifestyle… because I have noticed lately that I am gaining the lost pounds again.   Having a bowl of fresh fruits is what I love most!   Since it is rich in fiber, I know it is healthy… it helps me to avoid snacking because I can feel that I am still full till  my next meal.  Next that I have to do is to exercise , though it is hard to start the work out but as the saying goes… no pain, no gain…. We will see in the next few months….

love it!!!

I knew it!   I know this former classmate of mine will be in “hot water” and I really can’t help but feel so sorry for her because she was neck deep with problems due to the tax evasion case filed against her.  Inspite of her very successful business and whopping revenues… she is a perennial tax evader. Scary!!!!   In a one to one encounter with her, she admitted that she failed to heed the advice of her lawyer to avail of the tax extension form 2010 provided her, to rectify her almost ruined life so that she can get out of the quick sand pulling her down.  It became habitual of her cheating the government….she started with avoiding to pay her taxes and did all kinds of tactics and strategies just so her tax bills will be reduced.   She thought that she can get away with her dirty tricks to the point of not paying taxes completely.

For some reasons ,her questioning heart always prevail, she kept asking ” if paying taxes really necessary” because apparently, she believed that people’s money are pocketed by corrupt government officials and are not used appropriately.  She is such a smart businesswoman, she perfectly know that taxes will help citizens for access to public schools, safe highways, health care, prisons services and for the country’s social services.  But during those times she was bent of  not paying taxes.  We even introduced a tried and tested, simple and user friendly features of tax prep software, so she will not concoct anymore excuses for not  wanting to file and pay taxes.   But unfortunately, even how insistent we were to help her – she won’t listen!

And now, we can hear her pleas… Is it our turn now not to listen?   We believe that she had prematurely dug her grave…. but seriously, she is criminally and civilly liable now….. And we hope she will not go to jail!

Mobile phone use has increased dramatically and became an indispensable gadget in our lives.  Texting is favored more than calling by the young genre. They always come up with and play around with text messages using the Net lingo,  that contains phonetic abbreviations and acronyms sometimes too hard for us elderly to decipher.  It has many advantages and disadvantages depends on how resposible a mobile user we are.

Yesterday, we had proven the power of texting … we had launched a text brigade to ask for blood donation for a friend which I have posted yesterday who had undergone an open heart surgery.  The hospital did not charged our friend for that complex procedure; t’was performed free as humanitarian help.   Indeed, my friend was relieved from worries of where to produce money instantly. who was caught dumbfounded when she was told that her husband needs surgery.  The long tedious operation was over after 6 hours yesterday, and the patient is still in ICU for monitoring since the 1st 24 hours is critical.  Since it was done for free, the hospital only asked for blood donors amongst the friends of the patient.   It will be saved in their Blood Bank to save other lives…..

Well meaning friends texted right away that they are more than willing to donate blood  when they received the message that a friend was in need.

This is what we called “Loving your Neighbor!