Mariah Carey's The Elusive Chanteuse

I have few prized possessions in my life. And one of them is my Mariah Carey original cassette tape collection.

I've been waiting for her to have a concert again in the Philippines. Her first time here was in 2003 and I remember feeling sad and depress not being able to watch it back then. So imagine my delight when I heard she will have another concert here, for all her Filipino fans! 

Yah. That's the only ticket I can afford. Hehe. Our seat somewhat takes the joy out of the concert. But I console myself, it's her music I came for. And I was trusting my friend's DSLR to take decent photos of Mariah but unfortunately, DSLR are not allowed at MOA Arena. What a hassle. But I still manage to snap pictures of her while performing and some off the side photos. 

Sana totoo ka na lang na si Mariah. Hehe. 

My first time in MOA Arena.

I'm so happy to witness it even if I'm feeling a little bit under the weather that day. She performed some of her hits and some new songs. It was nice to see how much she evolved through the years. She really is one of a kind. Her voice, yung sobrang taas na parang pumipito (sorry, hindi ko alam ang english), is really remarkable. One of a kind. She is undoubtedly talented regardless of what critics are saying about her. No one can sing the way she does. There will only be one Mariah Carey!

Well, that's the end of it. I hope she'll come back again and hopefully I'll be able to buy a VIP tickets! Hehe. I wish! One down in my 20 things before 40 bucket list, 19 to go! :)

Paper Plate Angels

We felt like making an art project this afternoon. So we made one. This time it's an angel out of a paper plate. We have a lot of extra paper plates after we celebrated my son's birthday. It's better to put them to good use after all.

This is so easy. Here's how to:

Cut through the indicated lines

To form the angel, curve the body and slid the wings into one another. Then staple the back.

That's it! It's up to you how to decorate it. You can glue in glitters, or art papers, sequins, even fabrics! Riley and I just use poster paints. Riley is very cooperative. Its one thing he really loves doing - painting! 

I do believe angels are all around us! :)

Christmas Tree Deco

Ever since Riley saw the Christmas countdown in news programs, he has been bugging me to put the Christmas tree up. But I don't feel Christmas yet. Not with this kind of weather! It's so hot these days it feels like summer! So to put an end to Riley's nonstop blabber, we made a Christmas tree kind of wall art deco. At least that will do until the real tree is ready for the merriment. Making it will keep Riley busy too for a while.

First, we trace out circles in different colored construction paper.

Then we cut it. 

Well, it's the effort not the end result. :)

I let him do more circles which he happily obliged. While I get busy doing my perfect circles! :D

Then he started to get distracted. I anticipated that! 

That's when we stop and just play around. This evening, we continued our artsy crafty project.

Riley paste all the circles we I cut. 

One by one.

Then it started to fill up.

Until all the circles were glued to the tree.

He was satisfied.....

....and happy with it.

And now, he has his own Christmas tree!

Boyz II Men Concert

It's been a long while since I last watched a concert. And it was of some lame bands. So when I heard that Boyz II Men is going to have a concert here at Manila, my heart skip a beat!

     

Wish it's the real one I'm posing with! But I'm still a happy girl :)

I love them. Seriously, who wouldn't? I have been a huge fan of them since my high school days. I have their cassette tapes and listening to their music is a favorite past time. So when I'm certain about the details of their concert, I talk to my friends Rose and Grace. But they were not sure if they can join me and I was feeling hopeless and helpless. That's when mom of Riley's classmate, Jhe, came to the rescue!

That's Nina, Jhe, and me! We're so excited (and eager) for the show to start!

Araneta is pumped up that night!

Radha, The Voice Philippines finalist, entertained the audience first. She's good I tell yah!

When finally Boyz II Men appear! Much to the delight of the fans!

They sang all their hits, On Bended Knee, I'll Make Love To You, A Song for Mama, The Colors of Love, and many more. They sang acapella too. They also perform upbeat music and make everyone dance and clap. But my favorite performance of them is when they sang 4 Seasons of Loneliness. It was surreal hearing it live! I had goosebumps. One of my favorite songs of all time sang by one of my favorite singers of all time. It was worth the money and effort. It was worth leaving and missing Riley! lol

While singing 4 Seasons of Loneliness

This is when they started dancing ala boyband! Lol. They sure know the word showmanship!

They gave out red roses while singing I'll make love to you, like you want me to. And I'll hold you tight
Baby, all through the night.....

Singing aca pella. They have impeccable blending of voices!

Their last song. But then the crowd can't get enough of Boyz II Men, everyone were shouting More! More! 

Shawn, Nathan and Wanya appear again in the stage and sang two more song!

That ends our night. The concert lasted one and half hours more or less. I was singing along and screaming (when not clapping or taking pictures) all through the concert! I had a great time. I had fun! It really was a great show! Thank you Boyz II Men for making us happy by your music even for just a night. :)

From Scraps to Doormat

One of the things needed to bring in school by Riley is a doormat. That's when I got the idea. :)

We have sorted out our clothes a long time ago and most of it had been donated. Some are kept for my future refashions. The only clothes left are the old underwears. Because seriously, how do you recycle them? Dyahe naman i-donate. Ayoko din itapon kasi pproblemahin pa ng baranggay namin ang pagdispose nun. Baka sunugin lang naman nila. Siguro naman narinig nyo na ang global warming? Me no likey. So it's been on the storage for so long until I can come up of "something better" to turn them into. And that something happens to be a doormat!

The important thing you gotta make sure is that they're clean! Wash it first before you cut them into strips -1.5 inch or wider, it depends on you. The more the better!

Then sticthed them all together. Making it like a long yarn.

This is where it gets tricky. I finished my doormat doing the Half Double Crochet (HDC). My fingers as the hook. If you've never been crocheting it would be a little confusing so I suggest search for it first. Or you can keep up with my explanations and hope that it will make sense. :) Sorry I didn't have photos with these next steps with Riley's doormat kaya gagawa na lang ako ult pra kumbaga e reenactment. First, you need to make a slip knot. Here's how:

(Click the image to enlarge)

Next, you gotta learn chain stitch (CH).

(Click the image to enlarge)

Continue making a chain stitch until you have 16 of them. This will be your base. Chain stitch looks like a V shape. It will look like this: 

Turn your work around and we will start making the next row. We will now do the Half Double Crochet. In real life ganito ang hdc:

Pero dahil kunyari lang naman ito (nyee!!!), ganito ang hdc pra sa doormat na ito:

Imbes lang na sa pangatlong chain tayo mag insert ng hook, sa second chain tayo mg insert, oryt? But everything else, is the same with the real HDC. And remember the loop around your hook (or your finger) is not counted as a chain. Now, do the illustrations above in your doormat:

(Click the image to enlarge)

Continue doing this until you reach the end of your chain stitch. You should have 15 chains by then. If not, check if you miss a chain. 

Turn your work around and then chain one loop. 

Then repeat hdc all the way again. Crochet is sometimes boring. So persevere and being patient you must. 

Halfway there.

Finally! It's finished.....

If you have any questions, suggestions or violent reactions, just leave a comment my friends. And that's how you recycle scraps into a doormat! 

PS.
Now I only have to think of ways to recycle old brassiere. Do you have any ideas? Do share!