Happy New Year!!

Betchai's Joyful New Year's Day Jump, Torrey Pines Gliderport, San Diego, CA

(the print in my shirt, "Pinoy" means, Filipino, I am proud to be one! Thanks to Rose for the shirt, fellow TSS sister, her picture below with the group )

Life has been too quick these days, I had been enjoying my 2 week's vacation from work, and then quickly, the 2 weeks disappeared :( Though we did not go anywhere this Christmas break but home, but this has to be one of my happiest Christmases here in the US. During Christmas, my cousin joined us and we spent a lot of time wandering in San Diego despite it was not our original plan.

My Cousin showing me how to jump high, Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, CA

Originally, we planned to go snowshoeing in Mono Lake and the Eastern Sierra, however, because of the snowstorm that hammered the Eastern Sierra before Christmas, we were not able to go because the roads were still not perfectly clear. Imagine in just one weekend, 15- 20 ft of snow dumped in Mammoth, thus, the snowplowers can only do so much in clearing the roads. We decided instead to enjoy home, and what San Diego outdoors has to offer. After Christmas, Tes of the Craftista joined us 

Tes @ Cabrillo National Monument

on the 28th in San Diego with her hubby and 3 nieces, 

Left to Right: Cate, Teki and Yam ( Tes 3 nieces) enjoying the sea and sand at Mission Beach

for the much awaited The Salitype Society mini reunion. 

TSS mini reunion on 30th ( picture courtesy of Teki, Tes' niece)

sitting from left to right: Rose, Chay, Betchai

standing from left to right: Ruthi of My Refuge Online and Tes

Ruthi @ Shell Beach, La Jolla

It was such a joy spending time with fellow Salitype sisters, how we just wished the rest of the Salitype Society sisters were with us. It is our dream that one day we will all be together, like what Chay keep on saying, we will make it happen, one sweet day according to Zen ( or Kulasa). 

The joy spent with fellow TSS sisters ended on the 31st :(, and on New Year's Day, it was back to reality, but still a joyful reality filled with hopes. Hubby and I went wandering around San Diego again.

Joyful Reminiscing of Happy TSS wandering, Torrey Pines Gliderport

The New Year treated us so well, just so many sightings in one day. The ocean is amazingly sparkling blue, though we missed the dolphins that we oftentimes see, but then, the flock of birds were always there for us.

Gulls in Flight

Heron Kissing Its Reflection

We also had wonderful time tidepooling, saw several sea stars, sea hares, eggs of sea hares, lobster, octopus, etc etc, and I remember the days we spent with Tes charming and kind 3 nieces, how I wished it was also low tide when they went to Cabrillo with us. Anyway, I will save the pictures and exploration of our tidepooling in my next post. Sadly, right now, time is so short it is about time for me to sleep and welcome tomorrow, back to reality! Back to School! Back to teaching! And here I am, back to blogging before I get lost again this week :)

Again, Happy New Year Everyone.

Travel for Adventure

I and my cousin at Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, CA

We love to travel, and we love it with adventure. Though San Diego is one of the popular vacation and adventure destinations, yet our wandering spirit always long for an adventure somewhere. A vacation for me would not mean sitting down and lazying on sand, but it means being on the go always, exploring our beautiful world. Because of the adventurous nature of our travel and vacation, it is very important for us to have peace of mind when we travel. We see to it that we are covered by health insurance wherever we may end up with. Each year, we compare holiday insurance that would serve our needs.

on top of Mesa Arch, Canyonlands National Park, Moab, Utah

We never know what will happen the next day. Though we take a lot of precaution in our travel, but we can hardly tell what the conditions of our body will be tomorrow.

White Water Rafting at White Salmon River, Washington

A few years ago, during one of our trips, my hubby suddenly found himself limping and in excruciating foot pain. We thought it was from hiking injuries, we ended up in the urgent care of a nearby hospital. Thankfully, our insurance covered the cost that we did not have to worry about added expenses in our travel. The X-rays showed no physical injuries, for that we were thankful for. Now, we continue to explore our wonderful world while we still have the energy to kick our feet and keep on going.

Lake Powell @ Page, Arizona

Lake Powell, Page, Arizona

Page, Arizona is one of the popular adventure destinations in the Southwest. Aside from Antelope Canyon and Horseshoe Bend, Page is a popular boating destination because it is bordered by Lake Powell. Page is also the hub of the Grand Circle, being close to many spectacular National Parks of the Southwest. 

Lake Powell @ Wahweap, Page, AZ

Lake Powell is a reservoir on the Colorado River, the second largest man made lake in the US. Though most of Lake Powell is in Utah, but the Wahweap Marina, which is 6 miles West of Page is a very strategic location for most tourists exploring the Grand Circle. 

Sparkling Blue Water @ Lake Powell, Wahweap, Page, AZ

Fall Colors @ Page, AZ

Here are some distances from Page of some spectacular and mind boggling destinations in the colored desert of the Southwest:

1. Antelope Canyon - 6 miles East of downtown Page

 @ Lower Antelope Canyon

2. Horseshoe Bend- 4 miles South of downtown Page

 @ Horseshoe Bend, Page, AZ

3. Wahweap Marina - 6 miles West of downtown Page

 @ Wahweap Marina, Page, AZ

4. Grand Canyon National Park North Rim - 123 miles from Page

5. Zion National Park - 110 miles

6. Bryce Canyon National Park - 155 miles

7. Monument Valley - 126 miles

....and a lot more. For more information about the Grand Circle, you can check my "Your Grand Circle Itinerary" post at the Salitype Society. 

Devil's Garden Trail, Arches National Park, Utah

The Upper O of Double O Arch, Devil's Garden Trail, Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

Trailhead: Devil's Garden Trail

Location: Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

Features: Arches, Rock Fins, Hoodoos and Other Rock Formations

This is a very fun hike, with amazing desert scenery starting from Devil's Garden trailhead. The Devil's Garden Trail, a 7.2 mile trail, contains the largest concentration of significant natural arches in the world. The first mile is on well maintained and easy to find trail, that leads to the popular stop in Devil's Garden trail, the Landscape Arch.

Landscape Arch ( can be seen after 0.9 mile from Devil's Garden trailhead)

Landscape Arch is the longest natural arch in the world, having a span length of 290 ft, yet having only 6 ft of thickness in its thinnest section.  After the Landscape Arch, the trail is no longer well defined, but that's when more fun began! :) It became more fun for us guessing where the trail is :) since most sections of the trail are on rock fins. 

Devil's Garden Trail, Arches National Park

Some sections of the trail requires some scrambling over rocks, but is rewarded by some of the best views I have seen in my many hikes.

Fun Rock Scrambling

The View from the Rock Fin Trail

There are some exposure to heights while walking on the rock fin, but it is pretty safe hike because the fin is wide and more level. However, because the fins are basically vertical slabs or rocks, the exposure to heights on both sides could still cause uneasiness to those who have fear of heights. When we were here, there was a couple where the lady was trembling, her partner had to guide her all the way to the end of the rock fin trail.

Me, on top of Rock Fin ( could you see the black arch in the far front? )

There was a point in our hike that it became too windy, that walking on the fin felt unsafe. I grabbed the moment to sit down and simply enjoy the scenery.

No, He is not Daredevil, he was on the same Rock Fin trail we were on. I wanted to have picture there, but he was enjoying the views around him there for a very long time ( I could not blame him). I decided instead to take picture of him, then, moved on to complete the hike.

Un-named Rock Hoodoo( what do you see?)

Most of the hike is on rocky footing over sandstone slabs and slick rock with narrow ledges. There is stunning vista everywhere you look from the trail that not even seeing the arches is so worth it, but of course, the arches are added bonus. 

Double O Arch from the Trail

The sight of Double O Arch from the trail was not that very impressive, after having seen the other arches in the park which are easier to hike such as Delicate Arch and the Windows. However, hubby tried to go at the other side of the O, and these are what he got.

Double O Arch At the Other Side

( that's me at the lower O, trying my hardest to scramble past the lower O to join hubby who was photographing the sceneries around)

Me, still stranded at the Lower O

I gave up and decided to pose instead there at the Lower O, had I known this is what I will see, I would have probably tried harder to scramble past that lower O to get to hubby's location. Sometimes, my fear of skidding on rocks stops me from exploring :(

Arches National Park is a landscape of change, what is here now, may no longer be here tomorrow. The arches, hoodoos, vertical slabs, rock fins were all part of massive sandstone but overtime, the solid sandstone cracked due to stress. Then, water entered the cracks making them bigger. The fins and arches remained which are continually polished and shaped by wind and water.

The best time to hike this trail is late fall to early spring, since the trail is mostly exposed. The temperature when we hiked here Thanksgiving 2010 was 30 - 40F ( 0- 5 C). Hiking at an almost freezing temperature  for us is perfect compared to hiking in exposed summer heat. Truth is, we were here summer of 2007, the temperature was 90s F ( 32 C), but we hardly explored because we could not take hiking in the heat. We decided to go back when it was cold and freezing, but for desert hiking, a colder temperature is a lot more tolerable for us, with an added bonus: very few people in the trail.

Simple Joys in Simple Life

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Pier 1 Imports. All opinions are 100% mine.
Cliche it may be, but the title of this post is very close to my blog's title as well :) . But then, how else can I describe our home sweet home?

Sunrise from Home

Simple Joys in Simple Life, Gazing out of our Bedroom Window to Greet the Birth of a New Day

How else can I describe my preference and decorating style? Having to balance both studies and teaching in a high school setting which is totally new for me, I struggle with time. Despite my busyness however, there is one thing I cannot give up every weekend, and that is taking time out to enjoy the great outdoors. Hiking, or even as simple as walking at the beach is my way of taking away stress from my weekday's challenges. This love for outdoors, and my crazy weekday schedule hardly allows me to stay home. Not that I don't love being home, but my time just don't allow me to be inside home longer than others would. Thus, when it comes to decorating home, I count on simplicity.

Our Living Room

See? It is easier for me to clean the house when there is not a lot of decorative clutter around, I believe in simplicity. Home for me does not have to be overly adorned, but a simple place to inspire peaceful and happy thoughts. For our simple decors, thankfully, we live very close to Pier 1, a place where I often frequent whenever I wanted something for the house. In less than 2 weeks, some of my fellow friends at The Salitype Society are coming over for a mini-reunion. Now, I am looking for some accents in our dining. However, today the rain is heavily pouring and the howling wind is so strong that threatens to trample me outside. The good news however is that I still continued my shopping for some accents to our dining room at Pier 1 online. And how easy it is to shop, for example, I am looking at the table liner below, which is at 50% discount! 

What a joy it is to find out that this is available in the store very close to us! So, it is very easy, I do not even have to worry about when it will be shipped to me since I can just walk to the store and pick up the item when the rain stops tomorrow.  I can also continue shopping online for holiday gifts for some of my family. One of the simple joys in simple life that brings priceless happiness is when I find some items that I need that are in huge discounts!

Also, during this Holidays season, for the months of November and December, you can support Toys for Tots by dropping off an unwrapped toy and/or making a cash donation at the register. You can also support Toys for Tots by liking Pier 1 Imports on Facebook, for every new fan they get, they will donate $1 to Toys for Tots. A very simple way to spread the Holiday Cheer.

Capturing Forever on Film

Picture of Teyla thanking God for a beautiful fall day by MJ

"Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever ... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything." - the late American abstract expressionist photographer Aaron Siskind

- - -

October 14, Thursday. Rog has just left for work. I have just done the dishes. Teyla is throwing a fit. She is bored with her toys and wants to play outdoors. She stands by the glass door in the kitchen, beating on the glass with her little fists and yelling, "Aw! Aw! Aw!" Baby speak for "out." I sigh, lay the dishrag down, grab my blue hoodie, pull a purple long sleeve shirt over Teyla's head, slip my cell phone into my pocket, pick Teyla up, head for the door. As I pass the kitchen table, I instinctively reach for my old, trusty camera, which I had set there earlier by the fruit bowl. I constantly lug my camera all over the place. I never know when Teyla might do something funny or memorable. If and when she does, I want to have that camera ready.

picture of Teyla reading, by MJ

We step outside. I let go of Teyla's hand and she takes off running down the hill, laughing as she goes. It is another sunny fall day. Perfect blue skies. A dog barks in the distance. One of the neighbors revs up his lawnmower. A little breeze scatters leaves that lay on the ground in colorful little heaps. Many of the trees around our property still wear their red and gold and purple robes. Breathtakingly beautiful, to say the least. But it has been like this all week. I have taken dozens of photos of Teyla running down the hill with her little arms up in the air, a big smile on her face, colorful trees in the background. Nothing new today, really.

We make it to the bottom of the hill. A big, grassy field. Our front yard. Teyla runs around some more. I stand to one side, watching her frolic in the October sunshine. I smile as she babbles to herself. A while later, I yawn. Nothing new to shoot, really, I think to myself. Same old colorful trees. Just a different day.

Then Teyla plunks down under a tree. An oak tree, I believe, with leaves the color of burnt gold. She grabs at some leaves laying on the ground and crunches them in her hands. She giggles. She likes the crackly sound the dry leaves make. She picks up some more. I'm standing there watching her laughing, playing with dry leaves, when I realize I haven't yet shot a photo of her sitting the way she's sitting, under that tree, with the sky so blue above her. 
In a flash, I get down on my knees and start snapping pictures. I can't seem to get enough blue sky from the kneeling position, so I drop to my belly and continue snapping away. Teyla is busy playing with her leaves, lost in a world of her own, and a lot of times, I like taking pictures of her when she is in this state. I don't have to plead with her to smile or pose. She just looks naturally happy. I love pictures like this.

All at once, the wind blows in Teyla's direction. She instinctively closes her eyes, but only for a split second. Just long enough for me to shoot that picture. But I don't realize how it looks yet, not until I download the photos from that shoot hours later.

When I do, I'm very happy with the way that particular photo turns out! Teyla looks just like she's praying in it. And the fall colors in the background are gorgeous! I'm so thrilled that I post it immediately on Facebook. I get many heartwarming compliments. Even an offer from an artist friend in Virginia to make an oil painting out of it! I might just let him do that.

Thank God for the magic of photography! Through it, we can capture special moments on film and rest assured that many years from now, we can view those old pictures and relive those unforgettable times in our lives. I know that someday I will enjoy showing Teyla all the pictures I took of her growing up, specially her "praying picture!" I will tell her of the sunny fall day she sat down in the grass, under a tree, and I crouched on my belly nearby, snapping pictures of her.

Not everyone owns a camera or is comfortable taking photos. And even those who do need someone else to take their pictures, too, sometimes. Thankfully, Richmond wedding photographer is always there, ready to meet our photography needs. Award-winning photographer Ron Stiers has helped many families across the country preserve special memories for more than 25 years. Not only does Stiers take photos in the United States, but he has conducted photo sessions in other countries as well, including Italy, Spain and Mexico.

I read about Stiers today and I believe what impressed me the most about this photographer is the community service he is known for. Stiers provides portraits to poor children and families. He also hosts fundraisers for various organizations such as animal shelters.

It has been many years since I paid a photographer to take my picture. Rog, Teyla and I turn to the self-timer and tripod when we want to take our family portrait and, so far, that has worked for us. But if I had to hire a professional photographer to take our portrait this Christmas, I would pick someone who actually has the heart to help the less fortunate.

Ron Stiers is that guy.

- By MJ