Eyn's First Dance Video

The WVSU-ILS Dance Troupe

Sid joins Taichi

Narnia and Brown-out

The downside with a power outage (in the Philippines we call it brown-out) especially if you have not prepared dinner yet and it's already late is that the temptation to eat out gets more pronounced.  Rationalizing that we have not had eaten out for a while (the late night snack at Bluejay's last week was not dinner but a celebration of Sid's team kicking their way to the City Meet championship).  I don't know why boys and men love ramen but since Yssa was all for maki, then Rai-rai-ken at SM City became the destination of choice.  We passed by the Narnia set-up and posed with Aslan.

Bonding

Taken at The Ruins, Talisay City, Negros Occidental

Going to The Ruins was a spur-of-the-moment decision.  We went to Rose Lawns and since Bing was driving the new car, we thought it was a good opportunity to visit the famed spot.  We arrived at about 11 in the morning and  proceeded to click away.  Bing had them lie down the grass for this picture.  

We call her Yssa.

Hair and make-up by Shoko for th

e
"Sikat Academy" culimating activity

She likes gerbera, a flower I claim ignorance about. Which made me realize that there are now many things about this person that I do not know.  Like many women, I have started researching for my daughter's name long before I knew who the father will be.  I have toyed with the idea of Aishalle Marie.  A cousin remarked that Ishall, which is inspired from General Douglas McArthur's "I shall return" pronouncement seemed to make a good sounding name. I considered Erin, and Erienne, and Dominique and Noelle.  From the Little Mermaid, I crafted Arielle but Bing thinks the name was too male sounding.  Alexandra, then Alessandra, and finally Alysandra.  Rae was already a foregone choice for the second name.  That was how I came up with her name.  There had been one brief moment when Cassandra Gayle would have been named Alysandra Rae.  Her Tita Merly was at a loss for a name, and Bing asked for my suggestion.  I told him I have this name that I've kept for a long time: Alysandra Rae.  "It's a nice name," he said, and wanted to suggest it to the others.  I told him I will just come up with a new name, and I came up with Cassandra Gayle, which for me is a great name for a second daughter. Of course, I cannot use it anymore because there is already a Cassandra Gayle.

Mai's Jewels

Yssa, Sid, Eyn

Mai's Jewels is inspired from Cornelia's Jewels, a story that I read when I was in Grade Four.  Tatay and Nanay bought a set of books and a dictionary that served as our companion for the many number of years thereafter.  The story was in Volume 2 I think.  The story was about Cornelia, a Greek woman who visited her childhood friend.  The other woman married into wealth and when Cornelia arrived with her sons, the friend showed off her well-furnished rooms, her jewelries and her fabulous clothes.  The friend remarked on Cornelia's simple garb and her lack of jewelry. Cornelia gathered her boys to her side and with love shining in her eyes, presented to her friend her jewels.  Like Cornelia, Bing and I have our own jewels: Yssa, Sid and Eyn.  With the internet, most of our pictures are now posted online and the photo albums have been relegated to the upstairs room.  This is one way to preserve those pictures.