iPod Touch

My sister got herself a new iPhone so she gave me her iPod Touch.  This baby was a gift from mom and dad from their US trip.  I remember mom and dad's original plan was to give one to each of their four children, but I declined, saying that I'm not really a techie, and asked for Michael Kors instead.

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Until a couple of weeks ago, when the iPod arrived...All I can say is, "where have you been all my life?!"

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My new baby with a Madonna wallpaper, ofcourse!  I also kinda splurged on the protective sleeve since I got the iPod for free -- in purple, double ofcourse!

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So now I'm a kulelat techie being a late bloomer in the gadget department.  Haha!  Apparently, there's more to this baby than just playing music -- it has a camera, you can download apps, go paperless with the notes....my favorite apps are Instagram, Grocery List, the calendar which I sync with my Google calendar and Alarmed.  All the apps that I'm using now are free, which is a big plus.  I haven't bought any of the paid apps yet, but I know I'll get there soon.  I'm still looking around for the ones that are really worth buying.

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I'm also looking at the possibility of blogging via iPod Touch.  Gosh!  I sound so techie already!  Haha!  But really, I think my life has changed a bit since I got this baby.  I feel so cool whenever I whip it out of my bag.  Heehee!  Thanks, Ange, mom and dad for giving me the iPod.  It's a great gadget to have around.  I love you!  

Life After iPad

I'm not really a techie so I don't go gaga over gadgets and techie stuff.  I remember when mom and dad went to the States and bought my siblings an iPod touch, they asked me if I also want one but I said no thanks so they gave me Michael Kors bag and shoes instead.  But now that we've been bitten by the iPad bug when we got one for Aly's birthday and started using it, my only thought was, bakit ngayon lang namin naisip bumili nito?  Heehee!  This iPad is so cool and you can do so many things with it!

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We've gone high-tech and paperless when reviewing for Aly's exams. 

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We use the notes app.  I type in the questions and Aly types in her answers.

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She's pretty good on the keyboard too!

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Doctor appointments have become painless.  Aly doesn't get inip while waiting because she brings her iPad with her.

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Her iPad and snacks are a now travel staples.

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The three of us bond over the iPad too.  We play the same games, use the same apps...  Buying on iTunes is also a family activity because we choose and buy together.  We're cheesy like that.  Haha!

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Aly and I love the Doodle Buddy app.  Here are some of the stuff that we made:

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Aly made this for me.  How sweet is that?

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Aly's "messy artwork".  Her term for abstract.

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The wallpaper that I made for Aly.

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She made one for herself too.

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Hindi nagpahuli ang mommy syempre.

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I bought Aly this lap desk from the lunch market the other day.

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I love how the color matches her silicone cover.  Syempre pink kasi yun ang gusto ng may-ari.

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Using her iPad is a lot easier now.

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Soon we will be reading books and magazines on this baby.  We're still in the process of mastering this gadget.  Even so, we're having loads of fun with it -- all three of us.  It really was a great buy.  Sulit!  

Aly's Phone

Richard and I made a decision to give Aly a mobile phone.  I know you might think she's too young to have her own phone and it may look to some like we're spoiling her but you'll be surprised at how kids now are totally different from our time.  They're more high-tech.  Plus, we didn't really buy her a new unit, she's using my old phone.  All we had to do was buy her a SIM card.  So there was no spoiling involved.

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I got the idea when I was teaching Aly how to operate my phone.  I thought I'd teach her how to call or text daddy in case of an emergency where mommy won't be able to call or text daddy herself.  She got the hang of it so for practice, I'd let her answer the phone when I'm busy in the kitchen.  There was also one time when I was supposed to pick her up but I was stuck in traffic.  When that happens, I usually call one of the mommies but I get dyahe so I asked Richard if it's ok to let Aly bring her own phone to school.  So there.

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It's funny how we'd sometimes text each other even when we're on opposite ends of the apartment.  Heehee!  She's excited like that.  There are also times when I'd catch her tinkering with her phone, playing Snake or changing the wallpaper...it really makes me smile.  She looks all grown up.  Haha!

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Yesterday, as I was about to pick her up from school, I received this message:

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Haha!  Did I make a mistake by giving her a phone?  I wasn't late or anything, I was a few steps away from school when she sent me this message.  Demanding lang sya talaga.

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But it all changed when that evening, Richard showed me this message from his princess:

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I love it!  I love how father and daughter are exchanging text messages now.  Richard loves her sentence construction.  Hindi daw sya jejemon.  Haha!  I told him she doesn't know textspeak to begin with.

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Isn't she the cutest?  She really is no longer a baby.  She's a little person now.

Instax

It all started when we attended baby Nate's baptism, where at the reception, Danny whipped out this bulky camera that looked like a toy and started taking photos of the guests.  It was the cutest camera that I've ever seen!  Gosh, I want!   

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Our photo souvenir from baby Nate's baptism.

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It also caught Aly's eye because the camera was pink.  Hehe!  We asked about the camera.  It was a Fuji Instax.  Like a modern day version of the Polaroid from my childhood.

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My baby photo on Polaroid + Dymo label -- "cutting edge" technology at that time.

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Turns out the Instax is quite affordable at around Thb3,000 (Php4,220) but it's only now that I found the perfect excuse reason to buy.  Richard and I got one as a gift for Aly :)

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Aly's pink Instax.

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Some of the test shots that we took yesterday.

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She took these.  Bravo, Aly!

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And I took these.  The first shot on the left had the wrong setting so it was dark.  Eeep!  Mas magaling pa si Aly kumuha.  Haha!  

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The Instax can only use these.  Each pack contains ten sheets of film.  The regular ones cost Thb270 (Php378).  Decorated ones are more expensive.

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Our first photo on Aly's Instax.

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In this age of digicams and unlimited shots that you can easily delete with the press of a button, the Instax may seem like a step backwards with its limited film but these babies are so much fun!  I'm excited to see the photos that Aly will be taking with them.

Mini Speakers

When I'm cooking, I like to listen to music because it gets me in the mood.  But when the range hood is on, I can barely hear the music from the living room.  I would have wanted to get an iPod dock for the kitchen, but the one that I had my eye on was kinda expensive.  It would require a major purchase so I had second thoughts.  Buti na lang my sister got me this:

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Mini speakers in purple.

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Terno!  Because underneath that red sleeve, my iPod is really purple.

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It ain't Bose or Harman Kardon, but it gets the job done!  I use it not only when I'm cooking in the kitchen, but  also when I'm ironing clothes.  Heehee!

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Thanks, Ange for the speakers!  Love them! :)

Lumix

Having a DSLR is great but let's face it: do you really want to carry that heavy thing around in case a Kodak moment hits you?  While it can fit inside most of my bags, it's still heavy and bulky...definitely not my idea of an everyday camera.  Richard gave me a camera phone, but with 2 megapixels?  You can't really expect much.  Plus, it sucked in low light conditions.  

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Since our last camera purchase was two years ago, I think it's time to get another one.  I want something that I can put in my bag, doesn't weigh a ton, not necessarily super high tech (I can use my DSLR if I want to be more artsy), but can take blog/brag worthy photos.  I originally wanted another Canon, but the model that I want is waay out of my budget.  My cousin Koy convinced me to look into other brands.  So thanks to Koy, I found the One.

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Say hello to my new friend: the Panasonic Lumix F3.

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This 5,000baht beauty is a steal for 12 megapixels.  It came with a free 2gb memory card, a card reader and a protective sheet for the screen.  The best thing about this is it costs half of the Canon cameras that I was looking at -- the cheaper ones at least.  Plus, thanks to my 1Card, I got a 5% discount aside from the freebies. I'm happy, Richard's happy and so is Aly (she likes it better now than our old Sony).

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Let's see what this baby can do, shall we?

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First photo ever taken by my new baby, thanks to the sales guy.

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Taken by Aly at MBK, right outside Powerbuy.

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Thanks for my new camera babe!  I love it!

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The camera has different settings i.e sunset, portrait, action shots, etc.  This is on food setting.

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Candlelight setting.

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Normal picture mode.  And yes, we like to take self portraits now.

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Aly, smile for mommy!

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Glad that she knows how to operate this...so she can take mommy's picture too!  Heehee!

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Banana nutella bread.

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Smile, Koy!  I love this pic.  Koy is so cute!

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Ice cream cake.

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She loves the new camera too :)

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We love you, tita Angel!

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Aly interviewing tito Jof.

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Speaking of interview, my Lumix can take videos too!  Yipee!

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His and Hers

There was at a time when Richard and I went out in terno outfits.  Not naman in exactly the same shirts (too cheesy!), but just in the same colors to complement each other.

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During our honeymoon at Plantation Bay in 2007.  Notice the matching Havaianas? 

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Aly's Kidcore graduation in 2008.

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Christmas dinner with my inlaws, 2008.

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Now, we kinda outgrew that phase.  We don't plan our outfits anymore.   So if ever we're wearing the same color, it's purely coincidental.  Besides, I don't think it's uso anymore.  So we have moved on to other his and hers stuff instead.

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It all started with our Havaianas (see first photo above).  I don't remember the occasion why we bought them though.  Then, we bought his and hers Technomarine watches for our first wedding anniversary.

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We also have his and hers Ferragamo perfumes...

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...ipods...

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Just recently, Richard's office gave him a new phone.  And guess what?

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Terno pa rin kami :)  How cool is that?

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My brothers have the same phone, by the way.  Ange, I think there's a white Nokia e63 out there with your name on it.  Heehee!

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I wonder what other his and hers stuff we're going to get next? 

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