happy halloween

Here's a quick photo I snapped of Stan in our Halloween candy bowl. He did not like posing for this at all! We are still trying to figure out what color his eyes will be. Here they look gold but sometimes they are more of a khaki/green color, I guess we'll have to wait a little longer to find out for sure. Of course it goes without saying that his eyes will be amazing no matter what color they are.




















Happy Halloween everyone! Have a great night!

7:50pm EDITED WITH A HALLOWEEN UPDATE: We have a whole bunch of Trick-or-Treaters coming now! Wonderful costumes too, so far we've had a bunch of princesses, Ninja's and Power Rangers. One group of came with their mom without any costume at all, just in their regular clothes. It was the oddest thing. They were about 8 - 11 years old so they weren't even disillusioned teens. We thought it was so strange. Isn't the whole principle of Trick-or-Treating that you must get dressed-up to receive candy? After the door was closed, Paul and I both say in unison "hey it's just like that Curb Your Enthusiasm episode!" Anyone else had any kids show up without any costume?

scary!

Paul and I spent the evening watching way too many Tivo'd episodes of A Haunting. I love that show on the Travel Channel, it is my fav of all the scary ghosty shows. Now we are both freaked out and ready for Halloween!
nighty night!

pets on parade

Today my neighbor and I went to the Winter Park Pet Costume Contest.

Of course we brought our babies, in costume. Toby went as an angel and Gizmo (my neighbor's Shih Tzu) went as a police man. It was funny seeing Toby as an angel because he is such a grump. Click the image to the right to see Toby in his full angel glory.

Toby just about tolerated the wings that I added to his harness with a safety pin. Not nearly as innovative as last years' Ewok costume but at least he wore them wit
hout protest. We kept giggling watching his little wings flapping around.

We ha
d a blast seeing all the different pet costumes. We saw a lot of Superman, one Batman, a bunch of bumblebees, dragons, lady bugs and ballerina's, even 3 dachund's dressed as Chiquita bananas.

Toby did get a little stressed out by the whole event. So I spent most of the tim
e carrying him (his 17 lbs. gets really heavy after about 10 minutes of holding him!) while Gizmo ever the social butterfly was happy to meet all the other dogs! Poor Toby, I wish he was more comfortable in social situations but he did the best he could. Next year I am bringing his stroller so he can ride along and feel safe away from the other dogs.

But despite all that, we had a great day! I wish Paul could have come but he had to work today. But maybe next year! Now Toby is totally exhausted and so am I!

illustration friday: windy

Here's my submission for Illustration Friday's theme of "windy"















(click image to enlarge)
When I read the theme I imagined a girl taking a ride in the country on her little Vespa, scarf flowing in the breeze (wind), and of course her little doggie along for the ride.

Cristeta Comerford




Cristeta Comerford
AKA Cristeta Gomez Pasia

  • 1st Filipina and 1st Woman Executive Chef at the White House (2005)


QUOTE
"It's God sent. I mean, how many people are chosen, are called to serve...to cook for basically the No. 1 person in the world."

ALIAS
"Cris"
"Teta"


DATE OF BIRTH
October 27, 1962

BIRTHPLACE
Manila, Philippines

FATHER: Honesto Pasia
MOTHER: Erlinda Gomez

HUSBAND: John Comerford
CHILD: Danielle


USEFUL LINKS

Cristeta Comerford Named White House Executive Chef Hail to the Chef
Fil-Am chef to debut with royal dinner
New White House Chef 'Starts Cooking'

this and that

the last two days I have:
  • gone to the dentist
  • took Stan to get his 2nd set of shots
  • worked on commissions
  • chatted to Martha
  • answered 45 emails
  • started on new greeting card designs
  • created a new business card
  • talked to Bernie
  • taken Toby to the acupuncturist
  • added a photo guide and commission email form to my web site
  • purchased items from Super Target
  • returned most of the same items to Super Target
  • picked up cat food
  • lusted after these handbags, I think I will have to have one
  • found out that the I Want That! epsiode that I am on airs (Dec 8th!)
  • exercised by doing yoga & walking
  • debated whether to go to CHA or not in January
  • walked Toby (lots)
  • and of course snuggled with the pets!
Some new pet photos, I can't resist posting them!














Mabel taking a nap - look at that tummy!












Toby with a smile!












Stan - love the way he puts his arms over his head!


test

Blogger has been acting weird the last couple days. Just a test post.

brrr! it's cold!

It got really cold here, supposed to be in the low 40's tonight. Brrr! I can hardly stand it. Toby loves this weather though, he's super frisky when I take him out on walks, he's been on 4 really long walks already and wants to go out again. Meanwhile this weather makes the kitties very snuggly. Mabel and Stan are sleeping all curled up.

This week, I have been working away on commissions. Holiday orders have started coming in, so getting working on those early. If you were thinking about ordering a commission, now would be a great time to get your order in before I get too busy, hard to believe it but it's almost November!

Last week Paul and I got a DVR ( it's like Tivo) and it has been amazing, we are totally in love with it! I still can't get over the fact that I can pause TV while the show is on. That rocks my world! We have set it to tape all our favorite shows and now we can watch shows like Heros that play the same time as other shows we like. oh boy!! TV watching will never be the same.

Cheche Lazaro




Cheche Lazaro
AKA Cecilia Lim Lazaro


  • 1st Filipina President and Founder of The Probe Team, the 1st Filipino investigative newsmagazine in Philippine television (1987)


QUOTE
“I like to work in areas where I can make a difference.”


ALIAS
"Cheche"


BIRTHPLACE
Los Angeles, California, USA

FATHER: Luis Lim Sr.
MOTHER: Estefania Aldaba-Lim


HUSBAND: Delfin Lazaro
Cheche and Delfin have two children.


USEFUL LINKS

Cheche Lazaro Profile
DOJ orders investigation of The Probe Team
Still telling the story of the Pinoy on the street
'The Probe Team' is at primetime at long last!
CCP Continues Tradition of Recognition of Filipino Artists and Cultural Workers


craft synergy interview

I was interviewed by the Craft Synergy blog! yay!
Click here to read it.

italy anyone?

Paul and I booked our flights to Italy today! It took is forever deciding whether to fly into Rome or Florence, in the end we decided to fly into Rome because there were more flight choices.

I'll be going in April to teach a workshop in Cortona. The workshop has now met it's minimum and so we are all set to go. Yay! There are still a couple of spaces left if you'd like to come, now would be a great time to ask for the trip as a Christmas or Holiday gift! For the ladies, just FYI, we have quite a few husbands coming as non participating attendees, they can still come to all the meals and day trips and there is plenty in Cortona to keep them busy while we make art!

I can't even begin to describe how much fun it is there, the food, the wine, the art and 7 days in Cortona is heaven!! I am super excited because as part of our workshop we'll be going to the Nikki de Saint Phalle tarot gardens. I have wanted to see them for so long! If you want to learn more click here for
more info.

illustration friday: ghost

Here's my submission for Illustration Friday's theme of "ghost"
















(click image to enlarge)
This is a piece that I created for the Wide Awake Press comic book anthology Fall/Horror issue.

can't resist

I can't resist posting this new photo of Stanley. He's now 12 weeks old and a busy boy! He's at the stage where he runs around all night and acts like a nut. Here he is taking a disco nap before his night time antics!

stan_lr2

Dr. Gloria T. Aragon




Dr. Gloria T. Aragon
AKA Gloria Andrea T. Aragon


  • 1st Filipina Dean of the University of the Philippines College of Medicine (UPCM) and Director of the Philippine General Hospital (1979-1983)


USEFUL LINKS
The First Ladies of Philippine Medicine
The UPCM Celebrates 100 Years
Laurel, Aragon lead UP distinguished alumni awardees

project runway quiz

Answers in the comments below. Hope you enjoyed the quiz!

project runway finale

So it's Jeffrey! I had a feeling it would be! Last night it was such fun watching the show. We were up really late watching both the 10pm and 12am airing!

We all thought it was a toss up between Laura, Uli and Jeff. But we all guessed Jeffrey because his was the most edgy and the judges love edgy! I think all of them will have great careers ahead in fashion because all of the collections were wonderful.

We didn't get to play the garbage bag game, Martha and Larry were coming in from Birmingham and raced in while the finale was playing. But we did get to play the trivia game that Paul created, he did such a good job coming up with questions!

OK here are 7 of our favorites that Paul came up with, just for the record John won with Lynn coming in a close second. They know their PR Trivia!

1) Season 2 - While wearing their newly acquired gaudy skating outfits, the designers learned that they had to consider performance AND appearance when constructing their garments. What famous athlete were the designers asked to dress?

2) Season 2 - Episode eight was all about inspiration. Each designer was given a digital camera and sent out into the city to try to find one image that would spark their creativity. What unlikely object did Andrae choose to work from?

3) Season 1 - what deadly sin was the inspiration for the second challenge on "episode two"?

4) Season 1 - which designer visited the hospital to get their scalp stapled?

5) During Season 3's reunion episode Tim Gunn reveals he likes to do which hobby?

6) Season 2 - Santino Rice did a hilarious impression of Tim Gunn at which restaurant?

7)Season 1 - Wendy Pepper was upset because one of the designers did what to her daughter's picture?

Post your answers in the comments if you like!

Toni Leviste



Toni Leviste
AKA Marie-Antoinette Leviste


  • 1st Filipina Olympian Equestrian in Women’s 3 round Showjumping (2000)



QUOTE
“Dreaming is free. And those dreams are important because it is the beginning of everything. Without that, that desire, that goal, nothing can be accomplished. And my greatest dream is to win the Olympic gold.”


ALIAS
"Toni"


DATE OF BIRTH
1971


FATHER: Gov. Jose Antonio Leviste (Tony)
MOTHER: Celia Sarangaya



USEFUL LINKS

Toni Leviste.com
The Leviste Family Tree
Passion drives Leviste to ride
Horsing around
All The Pretty Horses

ready for the runway finale

Paul and I are watching re-runs of Project Runway and preparing for our runway finale party tomorrow night! We're having Lynn and John and Martha and Larry over to celebrate the last episode.

Tonight Paul created a Project Runway trivia game. I am not allowed to see the questions so I can play along too. So it's top secret for now! We also thought of some PR themed games we can play, but we'll have to see if everyone else is up for it. One idea involves garbage bags, masking tape and 20 minutes to create a design for your partner. ha! should be fun!

We can hardly wait to see who wins!

Right now I am betting it will be Jeffrey. But I'm still rooting for Michael!

Keanna Reeves



Keanna Reeves
AKA Janet Derecho Duterte


  • 1st Filipina Pinoy Big Brother – Celebrity Edition Big Winner (2006)


QUOTE

"I hope I can leave behind everything about my past. Although I must admit that I did learn a lot from it."


ALIAS
"Keanna Reeves"
"Tina Duterte"



FATHER: Jaime Derecho
MOTHER:


HUSBAND:
SONS: Isabelo and Troy


USEFUL LINKS

Keanna Starts Life Anew
From siliconed starlet to unlikely feminist
Keanna Reeves visits Batasan ‘housemates’
Keanna Reeves, the movie virgin
Keanna Reeves needs a lovelife to be happier!
Keanna Reeves: A True Danawanon

Charo Ronquillo




Charo Ronquillo


  • 1st Filipina and 1st Asian to become a 3rd place winner in Ford's Supermodel of the World contest (2005)

ALIAS

"The Asian Kate Moss"


USEFUL LINKS

Charo Ronquillo, Supermodel
Pinay places 3rd at Ford's Supermodel of the World
The model Filipina beauty

Pia Clemente



Pia Clemente


  • 1st Filipina-American producer to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for her work in "Our Time is Up" (2006)

QUOTE
"Believe in yourself and trust in your talent."


BIRTHPLACE
Manila, Philippines



USEFUL LINKS

Oscar.com Nominee "Our Time is Up"
The Talented Miss Clemente
Clemente '93 is First Filipino-American Woman Nominee in Academy History
BulakeƱa is first Filipina Oscar nominee
Pia Clemente Makes Oscar History

Pacita Abad




Pacita Abad

  • 1st Filipina to receive the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) Award in the Field of Arts
  • 1st Filipina-American Modern Painter to paint the 55-meter long Alkaff Bridge, the 1st "Art Bridge" in Singapore (2004)



DATE OF BIRTH
October 5, 1946

BIRTHPLACE
Basco, Batanes, Philippines


FATHER: Jorge Abad
MOTHER: Aurora Barsana


HUSBAND: Jack Garrity


YEAR OF DEATH
December 7, 2004


USEFUL LINKS
Official Website Pacita Abad


Consuelo Ynares-Santiago




Consuelo Ynares-Santiago


  • 1st Filipina Justice to become a member of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (1999)

QUOTE
“Do not think that Law and the Spiritual Life are distant and separate concepts. We must constantly remember: the Law derives its strength in its spirit. The lawyer finds his strength in the quality of his soul.”


DATE OF BIRTH
October 5, 1939

BIRTHPLACE
Binangonan, Rizal, Philippines

FATHER: Casimiro Ynares Sr.
MOTHER: Consolacion Y. Martin


HUSBAND: Atty. Francisco B. Santiago
CHILDREN: Pura Angelica, Jonas Francisco, Regina Carmela, Jennylind Allison


USEFUL LINKS

Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago
"Passion for Justice"
Personal Information: Ynares-Santiago, Consuelo V.


Connie Mariano




Connie Mariano
AKA Dr. Eleanor Mariano


  • 1st Filipina-American to become US Navy Rear Admiral (2001)
  • 1st Filipina-American military woman to be appointed White House Physician (1992)
  • 1st Filipina-American who became the youngest captain in the US Navy (1977)



QUOTE
"It's crucial for patients to be aware of their family tree. Knowing hereditary conditions enables physicians to chart a strategic course of action to prevent premature onset of many fatal diseases."


ALIAS
"Connie"


DATE OF BIRTH
1955

BIRTHPLACE
Sangley Point, Philippines

FATHER: Angel Mariano
MOTHER: Lourdes Jingco


HUSBAND: Richard Stevens
SONS: Andrew and Jason


USEFUL LINKS

Connie Mariano: Doctor to the president
President's Physician
White House doctors: The president's shadow
From Stewards to Admirals: Filipinos in the U.S. Navy
President Clinton Promotes Navy Doctor Around the Fleet
Text of President Bill Clinton’s address
A Call to Duty: Voices of Asian American women in the military
Is Your Family Tree Killing You?