Missa Pontificalis

I wasn't allowed to go beyond these doors.

It's the little swinging door that gave access to the altar.  It's also attached to the communion rail that prevented people from setting foot on the altar.  My Dad asked us to go and help him and my brother document the Pontifical Mass at one of the convents near their place. 

This was the first one I've attended, and it moved me to tears.  (Kind of hard when you're taking photos.)  The entire celebration was sung in Latin, and I was in so much awe of all the elements that make up the solemn rites: the nuns singing, the intricate vestments and movement of the bishop and priests at the altar, all the women in the chapel wearing veils (I was the only one who didn't wear one, and I was so embarrassed), and the prayers. 

I'm afraid my photos are very limited, both in quantity and point of view.  I was stuck in one place, (hiding) behind the organ (because of my bare head) beside the choir of nuns.  I felt right at home there, in that little space surrounded by the clear and gentle voices of the nuns.   It made me think of of high school and the peace, security and contentment I felt whenever we were doing our prayers or celebrating mass.  It wasn't even a quarter of the way in the celebration when my eyes started to smart.

All I know is this: God is always good and merciful.  And I'm grateful for all His blessings.

Nards

This picture pretty much sums up Nards to me. 

After we've had a very long and trying day at work, Nards would smile at me, squeeze my hand and say, "whatever happens, we're very blessed."  And all the exhaustion would be forgotten and I would feel blissfully content and happy. 

And very very blessed indeed. 

Photo by Markku.  Taken a few weeks before our wedding.

70th Birthdays and Shoes

Noah's Mom celebrated her 70th birthday yesterday, and Nards took photos of the party, while I supervised the photobooth.   One of Noah's adorable little nieces sat beside me the whole duration of service and helped me hand out photos to the guests.  Her Mom asked me if I could let her help me as she was so fascinated with the printers.  She didn't say much, just tapped people on the arm to get their attention when their photos are ready.  Did I mention she wore this adorable green and fuschia A-line dress that was so vintage?  She wore it with a pair of hot pink sandal boots.

Noah told us later on that at the time they were planning the party, one of his sisters asked him to reserve our photobooth because one of her friends recommended us.  It's really nice to hear that people enjoy using our booth and that they recommend us to their friends and family.

Noah designed this.  Ang tiyaga. :)

I was really excited for this party because I would see Cissy whom I haven't seen since November last year.  It was so nice to catch up.  We'll have to schedule another long lunch with Deepa.

Guess who belongs to which pair of shoes? :P

Maternity Shoot: Nikka

I love doing maternity shoots. :)  Next pictorial: newborn.

Have a safe delivery Nikka!

Organic Detergent

I have to admit that laundry detergents are among the common household items that I buy on auto pilot.  Whenever Nards tells me we need detergent while we're at the supermarket, we'd head to the household cleaners aisle and get two to three refills.  I knew at that time that it was a major water pollutant that kills plants and fish, and that it contains harsh chemicals that cause cancer and reproductive disorders.

At a kiosk in Trinoma that sells organic and green items where I get my Messy Bessy stuff, I finally found locally made organic detergent.  They carried three brands, but I was told that Plantex Green was the best.  It comes in 1kg boxes at Php125 each.  I think it's a tad bit more expensive that the usual commercial brands, but it's a small price to pay for the sake of Mother Earth and good health.

So far, I like it!  It cleans clothes well, and they come out delicately fragrant.  It's economical too, because I use slightly less per load as I normally do with our previous brand.

It's now a staple on our grocery list.  I hope you can add it to yours.

Guilty Pleasure of the Month: Yan Yan

Back in grade school, there were two things from our school canteen that I saved up for: mallow cones from Goya (?) and Yan Yan. And it's been decades since I've had either.

A few months ago, Nards and I were being assaulted by Murphy and his stupid law at a wedding.  When we got a bit of reprieve from the assault, Nards jogged to the nearest convenience store and bought bottled (!) water (I know, I know :(  But it was the last time I forgot to fill and pack our water bottles), and some snacks.  We needed to eat a bit of something to last us til end of service.  He came back with a few bottles of bottled iced tea and Yan Yan.

Instant happiness!  I forgot Mr. Murphy and the snooty wedding coordinator.  I giddily dipped my buttery crisp biscuit sticks into the creamy chocolate dip and munched away.   Nards always knows what to do or what to give me in times of stress, without even asking me what I want or need.

On our last trip to the grocery he bought me an assorted tray of Yan Yan: strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla.  There were short tumblers, there were tall tumblers and there were even some that had two kinds of dip.  There was even a variety of YanYan's that had writing on them.

But my favorite is still the chocolate one.  Egad.  There goes my waistline.

Birthday!

This alarm popped on my iPod and I found it so funny.  So funny, I was laughing for a good ten minutes.  How many people do you know would put an alarm in their calendar to remind them of their own birthday?  Well, one for sure: me.  I can't even remember encoding it. 

Nards and I were thinking of what we should do to celebrate this particular birthday of mine.  We toyed with having a traditional party, plenty of food, drink and good music, but we both deemed this too indulgent and costly.  Then we thought we'd have a coffee and cupcake party.  The idea sounds simple but really fun, and I was planning to invite my girls, and a handful of Nards' friends.  But we weren't able to make arrangements because of our commitments to our clients and we had to go to make an emergency trip to his parents.

So we decided to go bowling. :D

It's a very small party, just Nards and I together with my siblings and Deepa.  We bowled 5 games each, and feasted on pizza and sugary drinks.  I was surprised that I bowled several strikes (even Nards was surprised: were you out bowling while I was out biking?), unfortunately, because the score board was confusing, Deepa got credited with a majority of them.   We were in awe of the other bowlers in the alley with us that afternoon.  There was this elderly couple who kept getting strikes and spares.  Amazing.

Deepa, by the way, is a student of the Lifestyle Network School of Bowling.  She wore a cotton sheath dress, whereas the rest of us wore jeans and shirts.  Lady luck was on her side, and she was giddy with her high score considering she's never bowled before.  (Game, Deepa!  Let's bowl again!)

We all had ice cream after wards, and tried not to think of the heat.   We were too tired and sore to figure out what to do next, so we all went home.  Deepa came home with us for our long overdue sleepover.  As soon as we set foot in the house, Nards closeted himself with the PSP in our room and left us girls.  Deepa and I did a Dexter marathon and gabbed for most of the night.  Or until we both could keep our eyes open.  I was tired from bowling.  Deepa on the other hand, like most of our house guests, just found our home conducive for sleeping.  She started feeling drowsy as soon as she sat down on the sofa.

It was such a fun birthday!  Can't wait til next year. :)



I hope to update this entry with photos soon.  My brother was the only one with a camera that day, and I haven't been able to get the files from him.