Sky Gazing

I named this entry Sky Gazing because one of my past times is spent in our balcony gazing at the sky and I get to take snapshots of anything amazing.

 Dusk

 Double Rainbow

 Sunset

An upcoming Thunder Storm

Sky Gazing is one of the things I do to unwind. I take a cuppa with me and just stare at the clouds or just plainly appreciate the things around and of course, city life. This kind of opportunity is truly I'm grateful for. Right outside my balcony, I see such beauty, breathtaking view of mother nature. Never in my life I have seen and experienced this kind of privilege to appreciate the sky right outside my very doorstep.

And just recently, Fireworks!

Color Child

Aside from cooking and baking, one of my past times is some fun time with coloring books. Coloring has always been there since I was a kid. My mom loves to color and it's one of the things I shared with her and inspired me to join Art Club in school. Through the years, both me and my mom has been buying coloring books even if its more for kids.

So when the adult coloring books came out, we got really excited. I mean, this time, the drawings are more for our age. I like floral patterns more than anything else, but I still opted to get the coloring book which has all the patterns. I saw several themed adult coloring books, but the drawings didn't really catch my attention. If not too small, there was just too much going on.

There are several adult coloring books being sold in almost every bookstore and gift shop. Most of them costs from 350- 500php. But when I went to the SM Store, I found a bunch for just 150php each. Let's see... same patterns, the size is just right, not too big, not too small. A book contains several drawings from florals, mandalas, animals and random patterns... why not, feels like I hit the jackpot!

Whatever coloring book you're using, the important thing in this whole experience is to meet the purpose. Coloring has become a therapeutic thing for me. It relaxes and gives me a chance to become a kid again even by heart. I found a coloring material fit for my age, but it doesn't mean I'll let go of the old- fashioned kid's coloring book.

This is my 5th floral pattern: I call it the "flower child with a rock n' roll soul"--- I got the caption online, which also inspired the title for this post. My husband told me that it reminds him of a Jimi Hendrix concert.

24 Maped Color'Peps 185php

A Beachless Summer

This is one extraordinary summer for me and my family. Often times, as early as October, we already have plans for summer. This has got to be an experience to remember with summer being beachless.

It all started when we received a call late last year that we're already approved to move- in our new place. We got all excited and executed every plan for our home. Planning was easy, but the roll out got a little delayed because of the requirements we needed to submit in order to do the finishing touches. Having a friend who is a contractor is a blessing because he made things fast, sure and easy for us. With all these, it looked like our summer will go around with the adjustment and fixins of our new condo. But all is good for the whole family because we have a large pool to enjoy as part of the amenities of the community we chose to live in.

Every week, we go swimming. To a point that it feels like we're in a resort, only we don't pack our things to go home, we're here permanently and that's awesome! It's summer but the pool is often empty. We were told that most residents are balikbayans or prefers to hangout somewhere else or even go to the beach at this time of the year.

Not only that, we didn't have to enroll  our son for swimming lessons, because with a pool around, my husband personally instructs our son. And still to our surprise, a famous swim school  offers swimming courses here in our place. Perfect! we'll never run out of choices.

Summer 2015 may be beachless, but we sure do love the fact that anytime we want to freshen up from the tropical heat, we'll just take an elevator down and yeah, SWIMMING!

Quality Time with Family and Friends

Just a few days back we were able to find some extra time to unwind and relax. Moving from one home to another is also stressful. Once we got settled, we received an invitation from one of our close friends. It was their daughter's 1st birthday and it was held in a private location in Tagaytay, City. Perfect timing right? considering the weather was still cool, we just have to go.

The hosts chose the perfect venue. They rented the whole place and they also treated us for an overnight stay. Well, it was also a get together for us. We arrived early to help prepare for the birthday party. I piped the icing on the cupcakes and frosted the birthday cake.

Like us and everyone else in the group, the whole theme of the party had a personal touch to it. It was quite a big event but they didn't hire a caterer, the hosts prepared and cooked the food themselves. Shopped for materials, made the giveaways and games personally. I just love it!

It was a wonderful gathering. After the party, when the other guests had left, we stayed in a small patio. It was nice to be surrounded by friends, in a private place with mother nature watching over us.

The following day was a cool morning, so after we ate, we went for stroll to discover more of the enchanting place.

It was truly an experience for the whole family especially that we haven't been anywhere since the last quarter of 2014. Then with the build- out of our home, with school and work and transferring on the side, quite an adjustment I must say. But we went through it, a new life is about to begin.

I Go Back Home...

I am very grateful for the wonderful blessing of having a lovely home to go back to... My parents decided to relocate 5 years ago... Moving to another place means change for us. Change means new beginnings, a refresher and a dip in different color is healthy.

With a fresh start, our own home, a new house (finally!) we made sure that the house itself sits in a place far off the chaotic city life, away from the main road where we can only hear the tapping of  rain drops on the roof, birds chirping and our laughter through the roof.

Over the weekend, with my 3 boys and our Beagle, we decided to head home to relax and spend quality time with my parents and the rest of the family. Our mom will always be "the mom" of the house. I really enjoy moments when she cooks for us. She prepares scrumptious dishes and I miss her as somebody who you'll always find ready to sit and chat with you. Whatever she's doing, once she sees any of us, her children she'll stop working and she'll keep us company.

Our stay was very timely because they just got the 8ft. Douglas Fir Tree (fresh tree from Oregon). The tree has that sweet, pine scent that filled the house instantly. We've also set the menu for our Christmas celebration, games and other gimmicks  to make the Holidays extraordinary.

Yes, it's Christmas time!

The Lara Home stood out once again. The signature blue door was lighted with ornaments and Christmas lights.

The weather was perfect as well. It's cold and windy... before, we find time just to go to Tagaytay City and embrace it's climate. Now, we don't need to because we're enjoying the very same chilly temperature.

Every time I'm in need for a quick break from city life I go back home. Home is where I grew up as a child and blossomed into a lady. Home is the strongest foundation which my parents built to overcome life's adversities and celebrate the glorious moments as a family. Home has always been the center of our hearts.

Van de Graaff Generator At The Mind Museum

As a pre- Mother's Day celebration, my husband and I took our kids to the Mind Museum. It was my first time to visit the place and it was Frankie's 2nd. I've been curious of what this museum has got to offer. I've seen pictures and have read posts about it. Finally, I was able to step inside one of Manila's most visited museums.

It was a fine summery Saturday morning. We opted to go early to beat the crowd, thinking that it's Mother's Day and a weekend everyone's going to be out celebrating. Tickets were at 450php per head which was good for the whole day until the museum closes.

When we got inside, we were greeted by Aedi (idea). Aedi gave a short message on what to expect and see inside the museum.

The first thing we saw was The Majesty of the Universe area. It was the most visited when we were there. Maybe it's because most of us are curiously in love with knowing the universe and visitors are automatically pulled at this section of the museum.

We watched a short film. I enjoyed the whole clip because I was opened to new information about the solar system, space and the whole universe.

My eldest son, is very fond of science and experiments. He went back to see the T-Rex that's made up of real fossils. How cool is that?!

The highlight of our visit was to experience Van de Graaff generator for the first time. My son was scared seeing the hair of the ladies who went ahead of us go up. Something that he can only see on television shows and movies. Later on, he became comfortable. He has short hair, but you can see hair at the top part of his head raised up.

If The Majesty of the Universe is the most visited, the Van de Graaff generator holds the longest line. These are just few of the wonderful things seen at The Mind Museum. It sure is a place for learning both for the kids and the young at heart.

SEE: How Van de Graaf Generator Work

LEGOing

LEGO now has become a collectible. For some, mostly within my age bracket, prefers collecting LEGO bag tags, key chains, stationery sets and other LEGO merchandise. For me and my husband, we want to relive our childhood with our own kids that's why we are more into spending for a box of LEGO bricks and pieces as it also caters to the imagination. But don't get me wrong, we also like to get those nice collectibles, it's just that when you put the prices of those small things together, it's worth buying a LEGO Creator set.

Other than cars, my eldest son likes to build houses and cities. I on the other hand, have my own. With random LEGO pieces, I enjoy creating farm houses. I even thought of building a mini version of Smallville. Buy a Superman LEGO set as an additional display to my small town.

I so love the apple tree I created and the flowers made up of single, small LEGO bricks. The cow and the dog in my small LEGO farm was fun to make.  With more bricks, a horse would come in handy. The tractor is part of the booklet that came in with the Build and Rebuild set.

At the moment, my husband has his own project mixing LEGO sets in order to build his own LEGO model. Almost every weekend he goes mall hopping searching every toy store for LEGO sets that will aid with his creation. He plans to join a LEGO contest online where one should create a character using LEGO bricks and if the creation gets a certain no. of likes on Facebook, (not really sure of the details) LEGO will turn it into a real set. How cool is that?! There are hundreds of participants, but the whole process and the challenge of assembling "your own" toy is already fun and unforgettable.

Playing with LEGO has been a form of therapy for me and my husband. When the kids are already sleeping, my husband will pop a relaxing music, then on with our own worlds with LEGO.

and just a follow up... My younger brother Nino, to my surprise, knows the story and the history of LEGO. Apparently, it's one important part of his childhood that he kept because when he was a kid, he loved and enjoyed playing LEGO.