Guest blogger of the day: 3Po

Many months ago I featured my first guest blogger: my son Jammy, with an action-packed Power Ranger story. Not to be outdone, his brother 3Po responded with an equally thrilling piece. As you might guess that they're big on Power Rangers and shooting... (sigh)


Funny Power Ranger Suit, by 3Po
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Once upon a time there were 2 Power Rangers who shot a bad guy. They were sailing on a boat and they accidentally shot underwater. They went home and they shot the sun! -- It got bloody -- and it backfired onto a witch! Then they punched someone who was holding a shooter. And after that someone banged outer space,and someone skated over again and shot a big number. It was 16.

The End.

Beautiful

It occurred to me that I haven't really gotten around to showing off too many of the photos we took during our summer trip, so for this week's Photo Hunt I thought I'd showcase some of the beautiful sights of England and Ireland...

We were surprised to find such a great example of Gothic architecture masquerading as a government building. The Royal Courts of Justice, right smack in the middle of central London, had no tourists swarming around it, no vendors hawking postcards of the facade, but I found it as impressive as any cathedral. Imagine going to work in a building like that!


Out of all the famous buildings scatterred throughout Stratford-Upon-Avon, the childhood home of Shakespeare's wife, Anne Hathaway, was our runaway favorite. It was the postcard-perfect epitomy of a charming English cottage. And that was while the skies were gray with rain; all that prettiness would have been almost too much to bear had the sun been shining.

The Dublin pubs, especially the ones in the Temple Bar area, were such a joy to look at: bright, colorful, unique and well-kept. The inside was just as beautiful as the outside: the brews were tasty, the music was lively and the people were friendly.

Last but not least, "beautiful" is commonly used in England to describe great-tasting food (i.e. "that was a really lovely meal", or "oooh, your strawberry shortcake was absolutely beautiful"). Our first dinner in Dublin -- Irish lamb stew and a pint of Guinness -- certainly falls into that category. Mmmmm.... beautiful. Oh, and the gentleman enjoying the meal is quite beautiful as well, don't you think?

For more beautiful things, click here.

Yup, that's me

My friend mod*mom recently asked me if I had a blog button she could add to her sidebar. I actually don't, and that got me to thinking, why not. So I began thinking about how I would encapsulate myself and my blog in one little button. I didn't come up with any answers or any blog buttons, but I did end up with a nice little doodle. I used to draw all the time as a kid, but never really pursued it beyond my preteen years. It was nice to know that it's still in me somewhere.

I've left my mind behind

Okay, this jet lag thing is getting out of hand. When I used to travel for business, I could get over it (or deal with it) within a day. Three days, even four, I can handle. But a whole week? The lack of sleep is starting to do crazy things to my mind:

I missed a dentist appointment on Monday.

On Tuesday I put the milk jug into the cereal cabinet.

Two nights ago, Alfie asked me to get him two Zantacs on my way to bed. He popped them into his mouth, then spat them out, musing, "Funny, this Zantac doesn't feel right". Horrors! I realized I had given him two Zyrtec pills, not Zantac pills! God only knows what made him stop and roll those pills around in his mouth instead of swallowing them outright. Yes, he drives me crazy sometimes but I swear to you, I'm not trying to kill him.

And today, I completely forgot to pick The Pea up from school. I thought it was Tuesday and planned for a 2:20PM pickup. At 1:30 I got a frantic call from Alfie, saying the school had called him because no-one had fetched The Pea. D-uh, it's Wednesday, 1:15 dismissal!

With all these back-to-school activities going on, I'll need to be checking my Yahoo calendar every five minutes for the next several days because I'm terrified of missing something. Oh, and keep me away from the medicine cabinet.

One Last Fling

What sweeter way to end the summer than with a visit to the Jelly Belly factory?


We decided to make one final journey before the schoolyear starts tomorrow.


The kids loved visiting the Nut Tree Theme Park in Vacaville. With the combination of a just-their-size roller coaster, cooling water jets on the train ride and no long waiting lines, they were really flying high.


After such a hectic summer, this photographer is happy to take a seat!


You could win free tickets to the Nut Tree theme park! To enter, read my post here and leave a comment.

Wrinkled

The wrinkles are coming, the wrinkles are coming!!! The passage of time is starting to leave tracks on my face.....

For more wrinkles, click here.

I'll say it My Way

Overheard after our visit to Dublin, Ireland

Alfie: Did you enjoy Dublin?
Jammy: Yes, I liked Dubba-lin.
Alfie: Not Dubba-lin, Dublin.
Jammy: Dubba-lin.
Alfie: Say Dub...
Jammy: Dub...
Alfie: Say Lin...
Jammy: Lin...
Alfie: Now say Dub........Lin.
Jammy: Dub.......Lin.
Alfie: Good! Now say Dublin.
Jammy: Dubba-lin.

Colorful

What could be more colorful than a rainbow? Why, a double rainbow, of course!

For more colorful things, click here.

Dark

The Pea's blonde hair gets cries of admiration from relatives and open stares from strangers because fair-haired Filipinas, even ones of mixed heritage, are quite rare. In contrast, The Pea's hair is no big deal in Alfie's side of the family. In fact, his mother is quite partial to our boys' dark hair and eyes. She has always wanted dark-haired grandchildren and is happy that two out of her six grandchildren have coloring like her own father's.

For more dark things, click here.

The sign says it all

Alfie and I took a break from parenting and got in touch with our literary side during our recent trip to Stratford-Upon-Avon, the birthplace of William Shakespeare. Helpful signs were everywhere, as one would expect from such a popular tourist destination.



The cafes and shops seem to have been infected with Shakespeare's wit; everywhere we turned we saw signs making references to the man who so generously ensures them of a steady income:


Even from his grave, Shakespeare made sure he got the last word:



But the funniest sign of all had nothing to do with Shakespeare whatsoever. We spotted it on the outskirts of Stratford. I've seen crossings for schoolchildren and deer and even ducks, but never for this type of lifeform:

So this is where Hallmark gets all its birthday card ideas

Yesterday was Alfie's mum's birthday. We all woke up and greeted her with hugs, kisses and birthday cards. We spent some time admiring each other's cards. The Pea had a particularly witty observation about the card that Alfie's dad gave to Alfie's mum, which went something like this:

Pea: Dar's card is really nice. He's put a lot of hugs (O's) and kisses (X's) on it, hasn't he? I think he should have put one hug and kiss for every year that Nana has been alive, but I guess there wasn't enough space.

I swear to you, she has not been looking at the funny greeting cards at the local card shop.

Some things about me

It has been a long time since I've done one of these personal memes. My friend Monica sent this to me via email, but I thought it would be fun to share it with the blogosphere. If you read this and want to join, consider yourself tagged. Just leave a comment when you get your own post done, and I promise to visit and leave a comment.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
Like most Filipinos, I was named after a saint.

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?
During the Livestrong Challenge run.

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
yes, but Graham doesn't. He claims it's illegible (you should see his).

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Spam.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
1 girl and 2 boys

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON, WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Absolutely. I'd even stalk me, I'm that cool.

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?
No. Alfie uses sarcasm enough for both of us (enough for the whole family, actually).

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS ?
yes

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
absolutely not

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Granola and Trader Joes Strawberry O's.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
No

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?
yes -- but I'm really not (I can't do a proper pushup or chinup)

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?
dulce de leche, Bailey's (both by Haagen Dazs)

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?
Their eyes and hair.

15. RED OR PINK?
red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?
My humungous feet.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST
My 2-year-old baby Pea (fortunately I have my 7-year-old Pea still with me)

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?
Yes, I love it when people continue memes.

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
I'm wearing light blue capris and I'm barefoot.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
Orange chicken and broccoli.

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?
I'm listening to Alfie reading the kids a bedtime story.

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?
Rainbow.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS?
Anything baking in the oven.

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?
Some idiot telemarketer.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS?
Yes!

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
Soccer, ice skating, practically any sport during the Olympics

27. HAIR COLOR?
brown

28. EYE COLOR?
brown

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
no

30. FAVORITE FOOD?
Too many to remember. I love food!

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
Happy Endings, the sappier the better.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
Sex and the City

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Navy Blue

34. SUMMER OR WINTER?
summer

35. HUGS OR KISSES?
hugs

36. FAVORITE DESSERT?
Right now I'm craving a hot fudge sundae because I haven't had one in ages.

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?
Who knows?

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND
My parents. I'm not even sure they're aware I have a blog.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW?
FireFish.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?
Some abstract design.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT?
Disney's Cars movie.

42. FAVORITE SOUND?
My kids' laughter.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES?
Beatles

44. FARTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME?
Finland

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?
I'm good at planning and running kids' arts and crafts activities.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?
Manila, Philippines

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK?
Everyone's!

48. WHAT TIME IS IT NOW?
8:20PM, past the kids' bedtime so now I have to play Bad Parent and stop the late-running bedtime storytime.

Clouds

For this week's Photo Hunter's theme, I'm digging into my Philippine travel archives for the second time in a row, for two reasons: first, I'm away from home and had to schedule this post in advance, and second, because it's one of the best (and only) photos of clouds I have. This is a photo of the sun setting over Taal Lake.

For more clouds, click here.