shade or shine

On our trip to the beach here during the past long weekend, the sun hardly shone. It was really cloudy and it rained a lot. But I guess it's true what they say that even when the sun doesn't seem to be there, the sun's UV rays are everywhere. Coz look at Noah's sunburn...

Poor Noah's goggles turned him into a masked-superhero. :(

They say here that harmful UV rays can pass through clouds, umbrellas and windows. The left side of this truck driver's face is proof that UV rays penetrate through windows.

Horrible, right?

For the longest time, I worried about UV damage when Noah went outside to play on our street. I would cut short his outdoor playtime because I didn't know of any brand with a non-recreational/non-swim sunblock that was gentle enough for kids. I used to wish Johnson's Baby would make their UV Lotion available in the Philippines. The strange thing is that when they finally launched a daily sun protection lotion here, I still hadn't gotten into the habit of applying it on Noah - especially now that summer is over.

But my poor masked-boy's sunburn has made me see the light.

Shade...

Or shine...

... I should make sure Noah is protected from the sun's harmful rays. Yes, this guilty mom has truly seen the light.

What about you? Are you also guilty of letting your kids play in the shade without sunblock?

Photos are my own and from nyctaughtme and here via acupofjo.

Today, I am unloving...

Who would have thought this tiny little green thing could make me sad? It's a plug for the coffee slit on Starbucks coffee cups - to prevent spilling on takeout orders.

Apparently, this has been around in other countries for a while now. Some say it was used even before Starbucks changed its logo here. Isn't it sad that our anti-spill solution in Manila is still this Post-it-flag-looking tape?

I first spotted this green little thing (I heard it's called a spill stick because the other end of the plug is a stir stick) during my recent trip to Hong Kong.

Coincidentally, my SIL (who just got back from working in New York) got used to the spill stick and last weekend, asked for one when she was given the tape. The Starbucks barista replied, "Ma'am, sa ibang bansa lang po yon. [Ma'am, they're only available in other countries.]".

I can't help it. I feel so sad for the Philippines. I guess, for me, it's a little green yardstick of progress. And sadly, Manila's not there yet. Today, I am unloving... that Starbucks' little green spill stick has not made it to the Philippines yet.

Photos are my own and from here.

Click here for previous posts from the Today, I am unloving... series.

cartoon character makeovers

Yes, the old cartoon characters we grew up with have been given a makeover! The new ones are all thinner than the original plump, round versions.

Some even say the new Rainbow Brite has a thinner face and fuller, more red lips.

And the new Strawberry Shortcake has, longer hair, larger eyes and fewer freckles!

Some people have been appalled by the change and how it affects how little girls view beauty. To be honest, this could be a chicken-or-egg kind of situation. I asked Isabella and she says she likes the new ones better. So it could be that the makeovers are such because this generation's taste has changed remarkably from ours. It could also be that Isabella's taste (and as they say, view of beauty) has already been shaped by Manga or the scrawny characters of Cartoon Network (very different from the round, chubby ones of Disney Junior, which I personally love and watch even when Noah is not around. My faves are Doc McStuffins, Handy Manny, Special Agent Oso and Word World.). I'm not really sure which came first, which affected what. One thing I do know is that there is one character that Isabella, Noah and I agree is incredibly cute...

Yes, we all agree Puss is so cute in his big-droopy-eyed sick-puppy look!

Photos from here, here, here, here, here and here.

random Friends reminders

My previous post on the anti-theft lunchbag here reminded me of Ross and the episode where someone stole his sandwich despite his warning limerick. It's what brought him to the deep end and led to his sabbatical. "My sandwich?! My sandwich?! MY SANDWICH?!!!"

Yes, random objects remind me of my favorite TV show, Friends. This throw reminds me of the throw that Rachel used to cover herself when she walked out of the bathroom naked and Chandler was in their apartment. 

The one on the show was less colorful, but they're both crocheted and allowed Chandler to say, "That's a relatively open weave and I can still see your... nippular area." Eep, too bad for Rachel.

The many funky rings in this picture remind me of Phoebe and how she had to take all of her rings off when Mike proposed to her.

This dollhouse reminds me of the one Monica inherited, that didn't go well with Phoebe's toys - especially the giant dog statue.

And remember how Phoebe & Rachel were in a Literature class and because Rachel didn't bother to read Jane Eyre, Phoebe got her to compare Jane Eyre with Robocop in front of the whole class.

Finally, these chairs remind me of Chandler and Joey's lazy-boys (Rosita was the name of the one who died).

I wonder if the chairs in this picture are also facing the 'Stevie the TV' of this house. :)  

Photos from annnniegirl, lushlee and pinkwallpaper.

Click here for previous posts that show how addicted I am to Friends.

i've gone crazy

I think I've gone completely crazy...

Can you even spot the difference between the 2 photos? I initially uploaded the original photo (the one on the left) in my post here. But after I published it, the incorrect grammar - "Welcome in my room" - just kept nagging at me. I couldn't stand it. So an hour later, I found myself editing the photo with the most crude photo-editing tool, Paint (since it's the only one I know how to use). I couldn't even find the right font but it was the lesser of two pet peeves (as you might recall from here).

Sigh. I really think I've gone completely crazy.

And yes, I know this sounds suspiciously like an oops, my neurosis is showing... post. But as you know from here, they have to be 7 posts apart.

Aaaggghhhh! Should I have myself committed?!

Photo from pinkwallpaper.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post.

here we flood again

Yes, what I was afraid of here, did happen. Our street is flooded. Just a few inches above gutter-level. Neighbors say it's waist-deep outside our village (hope the families in that area are okay!)... so we're stuck at home.

Isabella and Noah were getting really antsy after being cooped up in the house for 2 days so I eventually allowed them to wade in the flood on our street. In Plueys, of course!

And I gave very strict instructions...

... not to run or jump. The kids had to drag their feet slowly as they walked up...

and down...

our flooded street. (ocmominmanila, don't worry. we scrubbed ourselves well in the bath after... just in case some floodwater splattered on us and we just didn't notice.)

I really hope the flood subsides tonight... Largely because the kids enjoyed wading in the water so much, they were pestering me all afternoon to go back out to our flooded street! I think Noah secretly wishes the flood doesn't subside...

Photos are my own - taken with my Canon S-90 - and from annnniegirl.

Click here and here for previous posts on Plueys rainboots.

once upon a flood

This was  how it looked during the last big flood. Fortunately, our house didn't get flooded. But it was flooded on our street for weeks.

Except (it wasn't that picturesque and) we didn't have a boat.

So we were stuck in our house for a while... on the second floor, from where this photo was taken.

Really hope the rain lets up because I'm really terrified of another big flood.

Stay safe, everyone!

Photos are my own and from annnniegirl.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post.

for the sandwich thief

This is a different kind of sandwich art. This collection of acrylic abstract paintings which showcase a sandwich's ingredients is called "Lunch Box" by Dan Kenneally.

And if my lunch box had the other type of sandwich art here - those intricate, elaborate sandwiches, I wouldn't want anyone stealing my lunch.

Here's a hysterical anti-theft lunch bag.

Anyone who still steals your lunch would be absolutely disgusting!

Hilarious!

Photos from lushlee and here.

Click here for the of-dots-&-things version of this post - the one with the elaborate sandwiches you'd need to protect with the moldy lunch bag above.

oops, my neurosis is showing...

I had written the post Simple Trick: Organizing Your Closet here a whole 2 months before it was finally published. You see, I cannot bring myself to publish 2 posts from the same series (in this case, the Simple Trick series) in one page. And since my Blogger is set to 7 posts to a page, I could only publish it until it was the 7th post from my last Simple Trick post here.

I know! My neurosis is showing again... Sigh.

Photo from etsy.

Click here for previous posts from the Oops, My Neurosis Is Showing series.