Fortuitously Fabulous 10th Blogoversary Giveaway!

I finally put together my prize package to celebrate my blog's 10th anniversary (March 7th)! The pieces you see reflect bits of my personality, namely, my love of travel, postcards, shopping, cats, and more recently, baking!

I hope you're not too feaked out by my cat's candid paw attack there. She was curious about what I was trying to photograph and just reached out as I clicked the shutter, so there it is. Perhaps she got jealous of the tiny ceramic cat figurine!

Details on the prizes:

-CAT FIGURINE: I love cats. I also love this figurine so much that I have two of it! It's been with me for a looong time. I had bought them with the intent of giving the other one to a fellow cat-lover sometime in the future. I decided to give the other one away at this momentous blogging milestone. Below her butt reads "The Franklin Mint Copyright 1986"

-J. CREW TOTE BAG: I love tote bags, and I love J. Crew, even before First Lady Obama made it famous! I draw photographic inspiration from their monthly catalogs. Sometimes, I just go in their store to get a catalog. Even the one for their "Crewcuts" line. They recently started selling these tote bags! So, tote your books in style with this 100% cotton tote bag with a sassy illustrated print! (Made in China)

-STRAWBERRY APRON: I'm a budding baker and a recent apron aficionado. I want to share my kitchen inspiration with you through this strawberry-print apron from Michaels! I chose the strawberry print because it's the official fruit of my traveling doll, Miss Igorota, who originally came from Strawberry Farm in the Philippines. May this apron inspire you to create something delicious and proudly home-made, or you can also wear it for your crafting hobbies! Or be a trendsetter and wear it as a beach cover-up! The apron is a full-sized bib style apron with an adjustable neck strap and has ties at the waist, and a pocket on the chest. Cotton, Made in China.

-WOODEN JOURNAL: I also collect journals, and write on them! This one has covers made of "eco-friendly sustainably harvested wood" and contains "100% post-consumer paper." I'm the type of person who is recycle-conscious and thinks thrice before throwing stuff away. This cute journal is made in "Homewood, OWLabama" by Night Owl Paper Goods. Write with an eco-friendly conscience!

-TAIWAN SCREEN POSTCARD: One of the most awesome postcards I ever came across! I love postcards and I saw these at the Taipei Airport gift shop on a layover last year. It has a screen photo of tourist sites that's like a film slide, and it has its own stand for automatic display! A picture frame postcard! The photo shows Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall.

-CHICAGO KEY CHAIN: I go to Chicago fairly regularly because we have family there, so here's a quintessential travel souvenir: a key chain!

HOW DO YOU WIN THESE?

Simple! Just leave a comment here answering any OR all of these questions:

1. How did you get to know my blog?
2. What do you like about my blog?
3. What DON'T you like about my blog?

Be honest! Nice things or brutally honest things said do not increase or decrease your chances of winning! Randomizer will do the picking for me!

Just make sure there's a way for me to contact you when you leave a comment such as a Blogger profile or email address. Comments for this giveaway will be accepted until 11:59PM EST, March 7, 2011. Winner will be picked by random and announced on March 8, 2011. Contest open worldwide!

GOOD LUCK!

Cauldron and Cat in Capiz

If I translated the title to my native dialect, it would be "Kaldero kag Kuring sa Capiz"--still faithful to my tendency to alliterate with the "K" sounds.

This is what a traditional, countryside kitchen looks like in my rural hometown in Capiz. Cooking is a tedious process without an electric stove or gas range, but the wood-cooked meal tastes more hearty. Just make sure your cat doesn't enjoy your food before you do. They tend to hang about the kitchen like this one! Most people keep cats to protect their homes against rodents.

Surrounded by nature, people there can easily pluck their home-grown vegetables right from their backyard for an invigorating vegetable stew. There are unique veggie dishes that I can't find anywhere else except in Capiz, such as the long roots of the gabi (taro) plant locally called "takway" that are peeled, chopped, then cooked adobo-style.

It's no wonder then that the people would also look to their backyard or the nearby woods for home remedies for blackheads, stomach aches, or small wounds. When you live closer to the rice fields than your provincial town center, you have to make do with what Mother Nature gives you. It's just a matter of knowing what plant is good for what ailment.

Plants. vs. Zits!

Fine Felines

I was reunited with two cats this year. One was in the Philippines, the "Kitchen Cat" that I saw in Capiz province two years ago. Funny how I found him in the very same spot--the kitchen sink, last May.

He looks older now. 

And the kitten I saw in Illinois about eight months ago is now a grown cat, photographed just last month.

See how she likes being rubbed on the chin? That right there is worthy of being displayed on a digital frame, along with other awe-inspiring photos.

Crocus-Pocus, Kitty-Catabra

It's the first day of Spring! And my cat Siomai couldn't care less! This is her in paperweight mode, by the way. Newspaperweight mode, to be exact.

It's been sunny for a few days now that people are actually out and about in t-shirts and shorts! It actually feels more like summer! A summer mirage in March! But the warmth is real!

The lake near our house has been crowded with sun worshippers eager to use their walking shoes and not their winter boots. I don't know if any of them take HGH supplements, but that's their business. I'm just happy I can stuff my puffy jackets away at last!

And as scheduled, our wee little crocus flowers have bloomed, just as they did around the same time last year!

Stranger in the Snow

It's officially spring in just a couple of days. Winter has been harsh, and being stuck indoors can be lonely. My cat Siomai knows it so. But she found a new someone to warm her heart.

She sure likes her males on the dark side! Her sibling/lover (cats can get away with incest) Maki who had passed away last December was also black. Her new Ro-Meow is a bit on the heavy side, though. But cats, unlike humans, aren't body-conscious or concerned about quick weight loss. All they do is Eat, Play, Love!

I'm A Kitty Teapot

Great Britain is known not just for fish and chips, Harry Potter, or Beatrix Potter, but also for its great tea. Tea is their sacred beverage. You see, I've devised a personal quick weight loss program which involves drinking tea, but back when I visited London in 2007, I never really cared much for tea.

When I went to the quaint shops at Covent Garden, this dainty feline teapot and creamer vessel caught my eye. Three years later, I regret not buying it. My carry-on was stuffed with Peter Rabbit instead on the flight back.

More teacups! Enough to host a tea party for Alice in Wonderland!

Kittehz!!!!!!!

Our cat Maki may have passed away last December, but he left a legacy in the form of two kittens which Siomai, his "widow," bore today. It's Siomai's second pregnancy. The first time she had a kitten (back in September last year), it died the next day. She's what you might call an unprepared mother.

The first kitten was born in the middle of the day, black with specks of white on its body. That's the one on the photo above...can you make out the head, ears and body? Siomai is so new at being a mom that we had to help the kitten be breastfed. Siomai moved around so much! We may have to buy feeding bottles for pets. She refuses to keep still just when the kitten's tiny mouth has locked around her bulging nipple.

We're naming this one Miso. Do you notice a pattern here?

Then later in the afternoon, Siomai let out a painful moan and I saw the second kitten, wrapped in a bubble of placenta, emerge from beneath her. It had grey fur with white specks. I had to laugh, because it seemed like Siomai ran out of "ink" to color her kittens. I mean, both parents have black fur with very little white hair. I'm thinking of naming this one Tofu...or Tokwa. My sister may not approve, though.

I hope Siomai gets her mommy act together and stay still to let her kittens have her milk! She keeps thinking I "stole" her kittens when I'm just really positioning them on her tummy!

I'm a Cat Grandma again, although not the kind that gets term insurance for pets, unlike other pet-owners around here. I love my cats and all that, but I won't be able to afford that!

******UPDATE: The first kitteh, the one on this photo, died around midnite. I suspect that Siomai mishandled him when she kept migrating them with her mouth, injuring his fragile body within. So the kitten we were to name Miso...evaporated. :(

Litratong Pinoy #67: Tamad (Lazy)

I have a cat-loving aunt in Illinois whom I visited recently. These are her two felines in lazy mode:

They're actually siblings, but with different "dads." That's why this kitten has lighter and fluffier-looking fur. She's quite a powerhouse when in play mode!

Ang cute nila, no? Kung hindi lang sana kami nag-eroplano, papamigay sana ng tito ko yung kuting nila sa amin. Pero yun ay dahil sa hindi mahilig sa pusa yung tito ko na asawa ng tita kong may-ari ng mga pusang ito. Hehe.

Hello, Kitty...Goodbye

On 9/9/09, at around 1AM, my cat Siomai had a kitten.

She had been acting extra whiny and agitated the night before, and while I was at the computer in the basement, I spied drops of blood on the floor where she had walked. I knew then that it was "time". I placed her in this box so I can help her with her labor pains, massaging her belly as she was silently writhing about, shuddering in slow motion. I saw a piece of red, fleshy matter sticking out of her and thought it was her kitten.

And then, I heard a tiny, shrill kitten voice from underneath the couch--a place I had already suspected that Siomai had been scouting a few weeks prior as a potential birthplace. Turned out she had already given birth and was actually trying to flush out her placenta. I was a...cat grandma!

I frantically tried to reach behind the couch so I can rescue the kitten and was secretly cursing Siomai for choosing such an obscure place to have her baby. It was so tiny, I couldn't reach it. Siomai was also responding to her baby's cries as she tried to see what I was doing and was figuring out how she can squeeze into the small space she had entered before.

Thankfully, her maternal instincts took over and she scooped her baby by the neck with her mouth, looking for an alternative nest. I carried them both to an empty room and placed them in a box so they can bond. The kitten's mouth was constantly open, as if waiting for milk to nourish it. Siomai, the first-time mom, seemed clueless as to how to feed it. I kept placing the baby's face onto one of her nipples to help with the breastfeeding, but Siomai kept moving about. It seemed she didn't know what to do, until the tiny black furball got tired and slept face-down. I went to sleep.

When I woke up, I peeked into the box to check the kitten. It was no longer there. I saw it on the opposite corner of the room, right on the carpet, with Siomai huddled over it. It was no longer moving. I held it and carried it back to the box, but was nervous when I didn't detect any movement or reaction. The body was still soft, but it was definitely lifeless. Its mouth was wide open, as if paralyzed in that final cry. Was it hunger that killed it? I doubt that Siomai was able to breastfeed her kitten. Did Siomai accidentally crush it underneath her weight?

I was a cat grandma for only a few hours. I had no choice but to dig up a little grave on the edge of our backyard, sad at the kitten's short life here on earth. Her fur which was still wet last night, had already dried and revealed specks of white on her hind legs that made it look grey.

Back in the house, Siomai was meowing like crazy, obviously looking for her offspring. She didn't know that her firstborn had gone off to the Rainbow Bridge that morning. She kept following me around, thinking I was hiding her baby somewhere and that I would show it to her.

Poor kitty...all nine lives used up at once.

WiFe=Wireless Feline

This is what my cat Siomai does when she feels you’ve been online too long. When you’re worried about computer memory and Trojans and virii, she just wants to hog your laptop once and for all. For her, it’s a warming pad. “Cozy” isn’t exactly a word you’d normally describe your computer, but to her, that’s the perfect adjective. Just look at the half-awake contentment on her face.

Look What The Cat Dragged In

My cat, Siomai, was startled to see this strange box land in our front door this morning courtesy of the very purple Fedex guy. It had traveled all the way from City of Industry, California.

Then she remembered that her mommy won a Banker's Lamp from LittleMsFirefly's blog giveaway which celebrates her one-year anniversary in Ireland this month! It's a little bit funny, because she had won a blog giveaway I had hosted for Miss Igorota's blogoversary earlier on. It's like our stars decided that we should exchange gifts!


It didn't come with a bulb, but not to worry, because we had extra bulbs handy. I plugged one into the socket.


It's a gorgeous desk lamp! It reminded me of the vintage-looking lamps inside the New York Public Library's grand reading room. It also reminded me that I should "bank" on friendship because friends light up our lives!

♥Thank you, Odette and KJ!♥

Tail as Old as Time

[see more Lolcats and funny pictures]

I confess, I didn't get to thoroughly explore Magic Kingdom at Disney World last April. I didn't even get to ride the revolving teacups! Was busy chasing Capt. Jack Sparrow and hunting for the souvenir penny machines around the park. Well, we did get to watch the electric parade twice that night, though, plus the fireworks.

I realized that I took some photos with my celfone camera, so I transferred them to my PC lest they stagnate in my celfone's memory. I actually took better photos with the camera I lost, and videoclips, too. Anyway, here are some photos from the "Beauty and the Beast" mini-musical at the Disney Hollywood Studios theme park. It's a wonderful, concise version of that Disney classic, fitting the whole story in just one hour!

Belle in that cheerful "Bonjour" song in the opening scene. This was right after we caught a glimpse of the pre-beastly Prince who shunned a witch in disguise. He was all rosy-cheeked and had his blonde hair in a ponytail that he looked prettier than Belle.

Cogsworth, Mrs. Potts and Chip were all so very hospitable in singing "Be My Guest."

The climax, in which Beast gets seriously wounded fighting Gaston. Belle rushes to his side, declares her love just in the nick of time, and the magical transformation follows. And they lived happily ever after!

Kitchen Kitties

One of my grandmothers in the Philippines had invited me to their newly constructed home in a subdivision in Roxas City last year while I was on vacation then. Roxas City is the capital of my native province, Capiz. This particular grandmother of mine loved interior decorating, and have even offered to do quickie-makeovers of rooms of certain friends.

I also discovered a kindred cat-lover in her. After a delicious seafood lunch, I had spied on their kitchen sink and discovered two of her housecats feasting on our leftovers. It was an amusing sight for me. They don’t care if they were treading on fancy farmhouse sinks or not. It’s a fancy feast of fish bones, for sure!

homeless, not worthless

here are two heart-wrenching tv spots of a homeless dog and cat sponsored by purina and PAWS (philippine animal welfare society) which i assume were aired in the philippines. to support sherwin who maintains "mefindhome.org," a website promoting pet adoption based in the philippines, i am reposting the tv spots he originally blogged about.

since i'm a cat-lover and have adopted stray kittens off the streets when i was in the philippines, the one with the cat--entitled "siyam" (filipino for "nine")--just tugs at my heartstrings. take a peek, each clip is less than a minute.

Adopt a rescue cat or dog | Volunteer for PAWS

the words at the end translate to "give him a home, so he lives a longer life."

Adopt a rescue cat or dog | Volunteer for PAWS

this one says, "a great guard dog, but he doesn't have a home [to guard]."

all boxed up

tommy hilbigger

meet tommy, our next-door neighbor's senior and obese cat. he's the outdoor-type, since his human owners won't let him inside anymore. a fancier feline lives inside their home now. he knows his name. when he wanders off into our property, he likes to show affection by rubbing himself to nearly everything around him. he's really old, he's been around since i first came here in new jersey many years ago.

tommy reminds me of holly golightly's cat in "breakfast at tiffany's". i think that cat should get an award for "best supporting cat!" i cried at the ending when holly went looking for her cat in the rain...and of course, he was found! (and got sandwiched in a wet kiss between holly and paul). i'm just a little disturbed at how audrey hepburn's character actually got married at age 14(!) to an older animal doctor in some hillbilly state. that's pedophilia!

after watching this movie, i recalled how our teacher in PEHM (physical education, health & music) back in highschool made us sing "moon river" for a music test. there wasn't internet at the time which would have easily given us an idea what the song sounded like via youtube. i think we asked classmates around if their parents knew the song. haha. so yes, i sang this song hesitantly (because i've never heard it before nor have seen "breakfast at tiffany's" then)...but i remember my teacher nodding as i sang. maybe she loved frank sinatra, or the audrey hepburn movie, or both.

ash wednesday, i was in new york city. had my forehead smeared inside st. patrick's cathedral. on my way back to times square, i went inside the whimsical anthropologie store near rockefeller plaza and spotted a charming audrey hepburn book called "how to be lovely: the audrey hepburn guide to life." i almost bought it, but decided i can always get it cheaper somewhere online.


oh, and in case you haven't noticed (or, if you care! haha)....i'm back from my temporary blog hiatus.

[book image from barnesandnoble.com]

ready, set...hibernate!

will be away from blogging for a little while. will "pounce back" before the end of february. in the meantime, why don't you keep miss igorota and the sisterhood company? you'll be amazed at all the places we've been with her. the latest one being this awesome wedding in tagaytay.

i leave you with a photo of my favorite mug, ziggy with hearts-a-plenty from a mailbox. imagine it filled with your favorite beverage. mine is usually green tea for anti-oxidant purposes, but in honor of st. valentine and all things sweet, maybe i should whip up some hot chocolate from the tableas i had bought from south cotabato. that is, if i don't get lazy doing the grinding and mixing in a saucepan. haha.

and oh, don't forget to watch anthony bourdain's "no reservations" on presidents' day, monday, february 16th at 10PM EST on the travel channel!!! (as if my blog's banner doesn't already remind you! haha) augusto (the guy from new york who got to be a semi-finalist in tony's video contest) gets his chance to tour tony in manila! and then there's cebu, too!

and if you want to win an autographed photo of anthony, quickly hop on over to the burnt lumpia blog!

[p.s. the lazy cat is my cousin's in pasig city which i photographed in december '08]

siomai ponders a question

our cats, maki (on left) and siomai look longingly outside the glass door. unfortunately for them, they're stuck indoors until it's warm enough to linger outside. spring doesn't officially start here until march 20th. we could still get some snow by then, who knows?

maki is the one who has the habit of darting towards the front door for a brief taste of freedom when someone goes out. thankfully, he doesn't wander too far away from the front door. he patiently waits by the steps for someone to let him in again, having had enough of the nippy, outside air.

siomai, on the other hand, is my feline "alarm clock" in the morning. she knows exactly where my room is, and stands outside meowing me back to consciousness so i can feed them their breakfast of dry cat food.

these furballs turn a year old next month.

litratong pinoy#36:kahel (orange)

ngayon ko lang nalaman na ang tagalog pala ng salitang "orange" ay "kahel."

tila nakaramdam ng takot itong kulay kahel na kuting (daming "k"!) na nakasalubong ko sa luneta nitong nakaraang disyembre dahil sa mga estudyanteng paparating sa kinaroroonan niya.

ito naman ang kawali ng bagong-lutong mga hipon na sariwang binili sa palengke ng polomolok sa south cotabato noong nagbakasyon ako dito noong disyembre rin.

at siyempre, isang karaniwang palamuti sa mga tahanan pag halloween ang mga pumpkins na ito na pinaliligiran ang pinsan kong si abby. kuha ito sa masker orchards sa warwick, new york noong october 2007.

snow what fun it is to write

i so want this 2009 planner by snowcat, a korean character. however, this item is only sold in online korean stores! drool over the cute specs here. (okay, maybe just me!)