Month: May 2012

Les Misérables – The Official Trailer (2012)

| Doyd

The story of my life’s Les Misérables…

I first learned about this musical when I was a sophomore back in high school.  Each class was to perform a broadway musical presentation and our class picked Les Miserables.  I played Cosette.  It was a memorable day…. too bad we didn’t have a video camera then.  Find me on the photo below…

During those younger years, I never heard about Les Mis before and I only knew and heard songs from The Sound of Music, Grease, and Cats.  It was during these years when my passion for music was at it’s best.

University of the Philippines Integrated School – 9 Silver (1990)

I took voice lessons since I was 8 and it was during my early teens in 1989 was when I first attempted to audition for a musical and sang On My Own (from Les Mis) and I Still Believe (from Miss Saigon)

In 2001, my husband and I watched Les Misérables at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco.  Once the orchestra started playing their ensemble, I had tears in my eyes.  Literally, tears pouring down my cheeks.  It was a dream come true.

At present, as a mother who loves this production, I have greatly influenced my “almost” 8-year-old daughter and she can now sing most of the songs from this musical.  Now I have to work on my 13-month-old 🙂

Here’s my daughter singing Castle on a Cloud (2010)

I can’t wait to see this movie and own a DVD.  I am proud to be a Les Miz fan!

BEFORE I WAS A MOM…

| Doyd

Before I was a Mom … I never felt how it was to instantly love a stranger the moment you held them in your arms after birth.  It was a feeling of unfathomable love.

Before I was a mom … I had a shower in the morning and before I went to bed.

Before I was a mom … everything I saw my Mom did for me was a mystery.  I questioned every decision she made for me, protested against her strict ways of running the household, felt embarrassed with her when she just wanted to spend time with me, and never quite appreciated her sacrifice for me.

Before I was a mom … I had my career and my professional social life.  I wore tailored clothes and high-heeled shoes.  I blow-dried my hair everyday and I didn’t smell like baby powder, chicken teriyaki, or Clorox spray.

Before I was a mom … I never had to check on anybody at night and made sure they are warm and snuggled in their blankets.  I slept all night long and woke up late specially on weekends.

Before I was a mom … I ironed my jeans.

Before I was a mom … our home was completely clean and neat.  No hand prints on the sliding glass doors, no toys under the bed, no rubber duckies in the tub, no colorful mismatched utensils in my kitchen, no dolls and knick knacks anywhere in the house.  It was truly immaculate.

Before I was a mom … it wasn’t a diaper bag or an extra-large purse for me…

Before I was a mom … I loved to go window shopping.  Spent hours driving around town, store-hopping and shopping.

Before I was a mom … I only have two to three loads of laundry in a week.  I didn’t care about the cost of laundry soap, the price of bringing clothes to the cleaners, and the cost of clothes even if I didn’t like the style.

Before I was a mom

~ I was ignorant and life was incomplete.  Motherhood taught me honor and made me selfless.

However, this post is not about me nor is it for me.  It is for my Mommy.

My Mommy who tried her best to provide us with everything we needed.  She sacrificed a lot, thinking that what she was doing was always for the good of her children.  She taught me to be ambitious, thrifty, compassionate, honest, God-loving, hardworking, and most importantly, she made sure I know how to love my family with all my heart and commit myself to being a good mother and wife.

Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom.  I love you Ma!

Skaters’ Waltzin’ with Shades

| Doyd

Break… break… break from photography and cooking.

Spring recital 2011 she was 7 years old and played “The Skaters’ Waltz” by Emile Charles Waldteufel.

Awesome melody to my proud Momma ears.  Hard-work and perseverance are what it takes to enjoy this kind of performance at home.  I am glad and really overjoyed that my baby loves her music.

Enjoy!

SUPERMOON 2012 lighted Irvine’s night sky

| Doyd

At exactly 8:09PM, I finished putting our children to bed. I ran to my husband telling him I needed to go out and drive around to take a few shots of the Super Moon that’s expected to be at it’s brightest and biggest this year (2012) at exactly 8:34PM Pacific Standard Time.

I grabbed my Nikomat film camera and made sure I had all my accessories with me to help guarantee a good shot of the beautiful moon tonight. I also brought my DSLR camera to be certain that I can take a few digital shots and bring home proof to my husband of this gorgeous display of tonight’s clear skies.

To make a long story short (because I am posting this and writing this at exactly 9:29PM, I just got home and am too excited)… here’s a sample of my shot.

SUPER MOON

Lens: AF-S VR Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED

Date/Time: 5/5/2012 8:35:40PM PDT

Focal length (35mm): 232.0mm

ISO 160 f/11 1/100 155mm

I wish my family had gone with me. I would’ve taken a much beautiful view of the moon from where I drove around the dark corners of Irvine. Security was my priority and I didn’t want to be along a dark street by myself.

There’s always a next year 🙂

Hope you like my composition!