Messy

More picture update at Ma Crèche Privée.

Bisita Iglesia

My love for adventure and photography incites me to explore the world around me. What's good about travelling is that you open your eyes to another culture, lifestyle and tradition. I feel more grown up after each travel. I learn something new when I visit another place and Rome wasn't an exception. I learned that by throwing a coin in the Fontana de Trevi, I could guarantee another visit to this lovely place. True enough, last weekend was the 3rd time. And still, I couldn't get enough of what this lively city could offer. One of my favorite activity is to church hop - bisita iglesia. Among the cities I've visited, it's the only place where I saw 3 churches in one piazza. And mind you, even the smallest capella are well decorated and painted - I even saw one painted by Michelangelo himself!

I've posted some church pictures below. If you could name each of them, you'll win a free ticket to Rome (o naniwala ka naman, lol). Bonus: the last picture is the Pieta, the masterpiece of Michelangelo in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican City.

Preggy Pix

Feng once tagged me to post a preggy picture of mine to which I replied no because I post my monthly preggy photo and development at the other blog. I have my pictures all over both blogs. Doing the tag would be one picture too much.

Then after two weeks of vacation, my colleagues were surprised not only to see me back at work but also because the bump had taken ample proportion. I already gained 14 kg from the start of pregnancy. But what amazes them the most is the fact that the enormous 14-kg weight gain is concentrated on only one point - my belly. My back view has remained unchanged (well, at least that's what they said).

Since I only see my front and side views, I asked Frenchguy to take a picture of me this morning. So what do ya think?

Sunset / Sunrise Tag

Life has been too busy lately, I have a hard time coping up. Blogfriends know that blogging is not in my priority list so when life gets in the way, blogging is set aside. Lately, as a way of getting away from reality, I have been indulging myself with our old pictures - trying to add colors to them thru Photoshop. Photography is a hobby I want myself to get addicted into. I don't have a top of the line camera nor the professionalism that goes with it. I only have eyes attentive to beauty, and that I think, is already a good start.

MegaMom tagged me to share sunset or sunrise pictures to which I am willing to oblige with gusto. Now, if you could allow yourself some constructive criticisms, that would be highly appreciated. Just be careful tho, you have an affair with an un-professional camera mom.

Sunset at the Chambord Castle, France

The inside architecture of the castle is loaded with what seemed to be the works of art of Leonardo da Vinci. One of the favorites is the spectacular double-helix staircase which is very ingenious. The two helixes ascend the three floors without ever meeting, avoiding the possible meetings of the King's wife and his mistresses. Galing no.

Grand Canyon

Taking a sunset picture in this legendary site was quite an event. Professional photographers and tourists alike crowded the place to capture what that particular sunset had to offer. I had loads of pictures but this one became my favorite. Trust me, the Grand Canyon is just at the background, lol.

Baywatching at Venice Beach, LA

I was a fan of David Hasselhoff, what else. It was a lazy afternoon at the beach and this cabin became a model for my sunset picture.

Fishing Cabin, La Vendée

Typical fishing cabin in the west of France, La Vendée area. Love this picture.

Bangka

At my hometown in the Philippines. Here is where I spent most of my childhood. Funny it may seem but I live just a few kilometers from the beach but I don't know how to swim.

Marseille, France

Hmm, mas malaki pala ang araw sa France kesa sa Pinas, what do ya think? lol!

Father and Child

Christmas last year. After a grand feast with the family, the two Frenchies asked for a quick dip at the beach. It was a quiet and relaxing family getaway. There was almost nobody at the beach. Look at how sweet my mag-ama were..

Les Dijonnais

The Frenchies are still here - blame it on the capricious weather. Our designated destination displays cloudy weather today so since we had no reservations this week, we decided to stay put in our little chez nous and enjoy what Dijon has to offer.

First on the list was Louna's haircut. Since it's vacation time, we finally decided to say bye-bye to her baby-hair and she gamely obliged. I think that she even enjoyed her pampering time at the salon, she talked non-stop while her coiffeuse cut her hair. A promising talkative little girl.

We were also able to enjoy our little garden which is most often neglected because of our busy everyday lives. Some little pleasures like going to the restaurants, leisure-walking at the town center, walking at the nearby forest, eating out with friends, watching DVDs with Louna and simply doing siesta every afternoon are already priceless rewards for us. Who would say we aren't on vacation yet?

Tomorrow, we will probably load our car with our stuffs and finally hit vacation... did I said probably?

Tax on OFW Remittances

An email which was forwarded to me last Friday has awakened me in my dormant status about Philippine news. I've read too much anger, hatred and some violent reactions about the news. Sino ba naman ang hindi?

Does the government help these OFWs financially during the process? No? So why the heck do they want to get their part of the cake?

Does the government evaluate the risks that our fellow kababayans take when they leave the country? They can't even eradicate all those illegal recruiters who not only go away with the hard-earned money but worst, the hopes and dreams of some kababayans.

And anyway, it's simply N O N S E N S E ! Why do we have to pay taxes on earnings from outside the Philippines? According to the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, an individual citizen of the Philippines who is working and deriving income from abroad as an overseas contract worker is taxable only on income from sources within the Philippines. That's logical. So why do we have to amend it and again, be the center of mockery of all the other nationals?

And by the way, don't they know that these OFWs already pay taxes in the country where they work? That's double taxation! Naman! If only we have a clean government, I won't think twice. If it's the way I could help the country out of poverty, why not. But you don't even know where you're money goes after taxation. Honestly, I've read the news, I probably missed some lines, I saw the taxation proposal and saw no exact program nor plan. Great!

Eto pa: The study suggested that these same remittance incomes pouring into the country had nurtured dependence, contributed indirectly to the contraction of industries and developed a culture of migration among Filipinos.

- had nurtured dependence : that's personal. It's their choice. I don't send monthly remittance to my family so I don't think I nurtured such dependency.. but well, I'm not an OFW. I'm just a concerned citizen who feel bad about the news.
- contributed indirectly to the contraction of industries. I don't think so. There are still a lot of Pinoys willing to work in the country. And besides, being an OFW is not for everybody. Not everybody has carabaos and a piece of land to sell just to move out of the country. .. and hello, if you listen to foreign investors, you could hear corruption, under-the-table business, government instability and terrorism as the main reasons, not the massive migration of the Filipinos.
- developed a culture of migration among Filipinos. Oh yes, if only the country could offer jobs to the Filipinos! A job which could offer him a decent living. A job which could help him send his kids to school.

How dare you blame the remittances for the above-mentioned reasons - the same remittances which kept the Philippine economy survive. Pinoy nga naman.

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Here's to lighten up the atmosphere. Louna's Image of the Week. I left her with some apple slices and came back with this image. Picture-worthy.