DIY Drybox

I forgot to tell you that I got my baby back. My 450D Canon DSLR is now back from service center. Actually, it was ages ago. I just forgot to blog about it. haha

So since the culprit of my baby's sickness was fungus. I searched for ways to prevent it. All of the searches lead me to Drybox. But it is so expensive! Around 4k-6k. For just a hobbyist like me, it is too much. So I decided that I'll just make my homemade version of it. Thank you Google for the DIY Drybox making instructions.

You want that also? You will need:
1. Airtight Container - Mine is Lock&Lock. You can buy other cheaper options, but I prefer L&L for its quality. I chose the one with holder so I can carry it around.

2. Anti-slip Mat - This is to prevent the contents of you box from slipping. I bought mine at the japanese store in Edsa Shang Mall.

3. Hygrometer - For measuring the humidity inside the box. I found this thermometer and hygrometer in one. Humidity should be between 45-55. But first I need to learn how to calibrate it.

4. Dehumidier and Dessicants - This is to keep away all the moisture. I bought this whole packet of dehumidifier at the same jap store.

 I got the dessicants from my old stuff packaging - shoes, medicines, gadgets! According to google, the beads tend to turn pink when it already absorbed a lot of moisture. But you can renew it by heating it up.

This is what it looked like after I placed all the items above.

It is now ready for my baby! :)

The boy Alfonso :)

Remember my story about my FSIL's baby? The boy. :) (Click HERE)

He's here! Finally, Alfonso Matteo Talattad Bravo saw the world for the very first time.

light or dark?

Ate Lani gave birth morning of May 24th. Yes, it was the same date of the American Idol Season 11 season finale. So while Ate was on labor, her hubby was still voting for Jessica. hehe. Anyway, the delivery went smoothly (it should be, it's CS). It is a very big bouncing baby boy. Imagine 8.12lbs? argh no wonder his mother had a hard time carrying him in her womb. But i'm sure his parents, even his mother, will say it was all worth it.

We had the chance to see him not until evening. Straight from work, D and his family picked me up to go to Cavite. We were greeted by the still sore Ate Lani, the very hyper Kuya Jubs and the very hungry Alfonso.

The first thing I checked when I saw Alfonso was his skin color. D and I have this inside joke that we will see if they have stronger blood depending on Alfonso's color. Ate Lani, like D, is dark-skinned. While Kuya Jubs, like me, is more on the fair side. But damn it is very hard! If the baby is all red, is he fair or dark? My friend Apple was so red when she was born, thus the nickname, but she is dark now. But Tita Nitz said that if the baby is red, he is supposed to be fair. Argh. Whatever. Let's just wait and see. :)

Debutante Atashi ^_^

Suddenly, I felt the urge to blog about how my 18th birthday went. Blame it on the Growing-up AVP I watched from a friend's wedding last weekend (will blog about this later).

So how did it go? It was simple yet very memorable. Why? Because I got to spend it with all the people I love and in exactly how I wanted it. Growing up, I was not into girly-thingy. I think I was even close to being 'boyish'. But i'm not lesbian, not even close. Gosh I'm so landi kaya. hahaha. So the thought of a debut party with me on ball gown with all the dancing really really scared me. Plus in the first place, we didn't have the money for that. So I thought of something that I can invite all my friends and everybody will enjoy also. During my sophomore year in college, what we really dug was swimming. And so we did it. 

Straight from school on November 8, 2002, some of my close college friends and I went to my home. We stayed on my grandparents' house. I was so shy to let them stay at our house just beside it because our house then was not pleasant to see. hehe. So we laid some blankets on my lola's sala and turned on the VCD (no DVD yet that time). We sang our hearts out until the clock struck 12am which meant it's November 9 and i'm 18! weeeee

Come morning, my folks cooked our baon. My friends helped me make egg sandwich. We first met our other classmates who wasn't able to join us overnight in Tanay and then we headed to San Lorenza Resort in Pillila, Rizal. We were suki in that resort. Most of our early college swimmings were there. Maybe because Shirley, one of my classmates, lived just nearby.

So there. It was a whole day of swimming, games, pigging out and more fun! fun! fun!

not-so-good quality ah

What touched me the most happened an hour before we departed. By around 4 in the afternoon, the rain started to pour. Some of my friends already climbed out of the pool and prepared to go home while a few continued swimming until 5pm. Jennifer started the slide-and-shout game. Amidst the rain, one by one they climbed to the top of the slide. And while sliding they were shouting my birthday greetings - Happy Birthday Ro-seeeeeeeeeee! So sweet! ♥♥♥

After sending my college friends home, I met up with my highschool friends for a little salo-salo at my house. Out of all the people I invited, only 3 made it - Melvin (my then boyfriend), Francis (my closest highschool male friend) and Sandie (one of my closest friends since gradeschool). 

I was a bit disappointed by this. But I just blamed the rain for it. Anyway, I still have a bunch of relatives who came and celebrated with me. With that, I realized my debut was still a blast sans princess-like party. And if will be given the chance to do it again, I will not change a thing. :)

DIY: Mini-Traffic Cone

Ok! I am currently in one of those good moods towards wedding preps. I need to strike while the iron is hot! yay!

So last night I made one of my fantasies into reality - my very own mini-Traffic Cone paper mache!

Sorry for the picture resolution, I just used my phone camera. And it is still a work in progress.
I also need to secure D approval for this one. Oh yeah he is in charge for everything male-related. :)

What's this for? Hmm I can't really tell now. I have so many ideas on how to use it. Wait and see.

unleashing the fangirl

DISCLAIMER: Brace yourself for some fangirl post. :)

I seldom get artista crushes. I find it weird for people to go gaga over someone they just see on TV. In fact, my cousin branded me kontrabida every time I made fun of her because she went to this Hanson fans club's meet and greet. And how she went crazy every time Hanson brothers were in town. IMO, just get the real deal. I mean, get someone who can notice a commoner like you. Fairytales only happen in movie, so I speak. Oh well, to each his own.

Not until I noticed this guy from The Morning Rush with Chico and Delamar. Oohh not Chico! hahaha.

BTW, I am an avid fan of rxtmr for as long as forever. Just give me FM radio or internet, you can see me laughing my ass off Chico's sleazy jokes and Delle's innocent retorts. I regret that I'm not listening the day Delle announced her pregnancy, but I was there when the new guy filled in. That was Gino leaving the Awesome Twosome with Fran to join the show. I was surprised that the new 'loveteam' clicked like crazy! I was loving every day of their gay-ness. When Delle returned from maternity leave, I was afraid that the Chichi and Gigi tandem might be over. But yay! Gino stayed! And so then the birth of the Kikay Barkada. As well as the creation of my twitter account @yoshyin.

emo attack :S

'Coz I'm missing you so bad now that you're not by my side
I guess you could say it's me who's hurting so bad 
After all this time, after all that we've been through
Baby aren't you hurtin' too?

Haaaayyyyyy. :S

My emotions right now. No details whatsoever. Read between the lines.

#wrongtiming

This is not a wedding post. But somehow, there is a connection.

4 years in the IT industry and all I ever wanted was to be deployed onshore. It comes with condition of course. I want my deployment to be short but sweet. I am scared to be alone in a foreign land. aww. Thus, I want to be accompanied with a fellow Pinoy worker. So we can talk to each other everytime we feel homesick. Yay!

And then in a very unwelcome time, it came. And it came really really big. The deployment is set to be only for 11months and we will be deployed as a team. All my criteria were met. The client is so big, i mean really famous. Think - unlimited starbucks at the office, free iphone, free macbook, blah blah. The only downside they told us was that the working hours would probably be at least 60 hours per week. But still this is a very tempting opportunity.

Sadly, I have to decline. The travel period will coincide with my wedding. I cannot go home unless my leaves will be approved by the client (which is very unlikely) AND I will pay my own plane tickets for the vacation. So that's it. I cannot do it. Specially now that my wedding is almost prepared and we already spent a lot of money on non-refundable downpayments. And how the hell am I supposed to do it abroad? I can only imagine D doing everything. arghh. It's not that I do not trust him. It's just that I know he has so much in his own plate too.

So i guess I'll just live by Ms.Benz thought - If it is for me, I'll get it effortlessly.
Hopefully I can do it next year. I just wish the 'fruit' is still there. And looking at the bright side, next year I can bring along D as my dependent too.

Come on positive vibes :)

Gown Maker - CHECK!

If there's one thing in my wedding that I do not want to splurge on, it will be the gown.

I'm not really particular in wearing designer clothes. In fact, my everyday office wear were sourced either from cheap mall stores or in tiangge. I like tiangge clothes better because they have great range of rare vintage pieces. So going back, I said i will only wear that wedding gown once. But it will be in every pictures of my special day, so i still want it to be somehow unique.

With that thinking in mind, I spent more than a year in sourcing supplier for wedding gown and entourage gown. I shortlisted Boy Kastner Santos, Emil Ocampo, Ryan Sarangay, Ms. Magda, Jeff House of Fashion and some Divisoria dressmakers. Some of them didn't suit my budget so I have to let go. Until finally, the only choice I got was to look for a trusted divi supplier (i chose Vangie Suva that time) or Melanie Reyes from Grace Gown and Barongs.

Some months ago, I already talked to Mel and haggled the price. They were affordable compared to the price in the w@w market, but a bit steep compared to Divisoria prices. I was concerned with the distance from my home. You see we've had bad experiences in dealing with some dressmakers in Divi and they took a lot of time to return our altered dresses. I don't want that stress on my wedding. So that was my deciding factor. Mel's shop is just a few steps away from our house so no hassle on the location. With regards to her craft, Mel has proven it to us. My cousin Iya joined their school pageant wearing Mel's creations. Same with my god daugther Jayna. Well, Jayna wore too many of Mel's creations that even her sister knew our Jayna. Most of her works are made of satin and silk. I just hope she can also do wonders on chiffon and tulle.

gracegownandbarongs.multiply.com

So last Saturday, we finalized everything. So there! I have a new supplier - Melanie Anorma Reyes of Grace Gown and Barongs.

North Luzon Loop - CHECK!

Before anything else, I would like to defend ourselves for not inviting anybody to join us in our ride. hehe. This has been an on-going issue with our rider friends.

1st - I wanted to go to Calaguas but they said it's a long travel. Most of them only have at max 2 days off from work on holy week.

2nd - As I said, that was a long vacation. imagine 5-day vacation? And I can only use 2 days out of it? hell NO!

3rd - The ride was unplanned. The decision came just hours before we took off. We initially planned to go to Hundred Islands - Baguio. But I assumed since we will be going during the most peak season of the year, enjoying that tour would be impossible since the place will surely be packed with tourists.

4th - Since Hundred Islands-Baguio is off the list, I suggested we go to Pagudpud. D agreed since it will also be a great chance to retrace the route where he once crashed (the reason why I was not allowing him to join long rides anymore).

5th - It would definitely be a great bonding experience for D and I.

And we actually sent out invitations! Well not formal invitation but D mentioned it in one of the threads in our FB page. I guess they thought it's a joke since we posted it just before we sleep the day before.

Ok enough of being so defensive. haha. Let's start with the Ride Diary!

DAY 1: Pasig - San Juan, La Union

We woke up late! waaaa. We initially planned to rise at 3am so we can take off at 4am. Dang! We woke up at 6:30am ang took off at 8am. aww  

we are late! aww