Posted by: thelmabowlen | February 4, 2010

Missing Menudo

I’ve never thought of myself as a cook so it’s one skill that I’m definitely not passing on to Kyera. You know how most moms have family recipes passed down through generations that they pass on to their daughters who will then pass them on to their daughters? Not happening here. At best, Kyera will learn how to not burn eggs and not make things explode in the microwave. And how to be an early adopter of things online.

At the beginning of 2010, I suddenly had a craving for menudo and actually Googled a recipe. Without over thinking—and eventually changing my mind—I wrote down the ingredients, minus the traditional chickpeas, tripe, bell peppers and chorizo de bilbao (sausage). (K and I don’t like the first 3 and I didn’t know where to find chorizo.)

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Posted by: thelmabowlen | February 1, 2010

The cold outside our door

The bitter, beautiful cold outside our door

The cold outside our door

We made it through our first Winter Storm in Nashville! It’s been equal parts freezing, boring, and fun. I took this and some other pictures and was reminded of how easily cold can sit comfortably outside our hearts, waiting for a bitter thought to pry open a window or a door to our souls, and leave us as cold on the inside.

“I tithe! Why are you not blessing me financially?”

“I read my Bible everyday. Why are you not answering my prayers?”

“Um, God, I’m still sick. Haven’t you noticed?”

The list goes on and on.

No wonder why Paul reminds Timothy to “fan (his faith) into flame”.

May I fall in love with God more and more each day regardless of how He makes and allows each one to unfold.

Posted by: thelmabowlen | January 17, 2010

Time Stand Still

All 7 lbs, 19 inches of Kyera 2 days after she was born.

Just had to borrow the title of one my favorite Rush songs. Geddy Lee sings about the swift passage of time and how important it is to savor each moment in Time Stand Still.

(Time stand still)
I’m not looking back
But I want to look around me now
(Time stand still)
See more of the people and the places that surround me now
Time stand still
Freeze this moment a little bit longer
Make each sensation a little bit stronger

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Posted by: thelmabowlen | December 31, 2009

Welcoming the millennium in NYE glasses

Me and Kyera, originally uploaded by thelmabowlen.

There’s a trending topic on Twitter today with the hashtag #10yearsago. I shared this picture. It’s the two of us outside our apartment in Marikina where we lived one door away from my best friends, Ron and Joyce, their children, Wolfie and Diandra, and extended family of animals — a dog, a couple of cats, hamsters, and a turtle.

It was one of our favorite places not just because we were right next to friends who were like family, but because it was our first two-level apartment.

This was also the time we discovered The Adventures of Pete and Pete on Nickelodeon. Every morning, we’d have to wake at 4:45 to be at the station for my morning show. (Yes, we. Kyera would have to come with because we didn’t have a live-in helper at the time so I had no choice but to bring her to work with me.) Pete and Pete would be on and it was a good way to wake up watching them learn about life.

After my show, she’d stay at the station while I ran around to studios if I had freelance voicing gigs lined up; if I didn’t, we went home.

This apartment also brings back memories of my season in theater. I would drive home in rush hour traffic listening to rehearsal tapes of music from Once Upon a Mattress. I ended up quitting. I just could not juggle being in a current production — Our Town, I believe it was — doing a daily morning show, and juggling a freelance voicing schedule.

It was a busy, stressful time of life that now feels like a lifetime and a country away.

It is.

So how did we ring in the new millennium other than with these “2000″ glasses? Next door at Ron and Joyce’s, talking, eating, and laughing until 4AM; Kyera, Wolfie, and Diandra, upstairs doing the same.

It was a good time.

Posted by: thelmabowlen | December 29, 2009

Loft Dreams

Some day I’d like to live in a loft in a brick walk-up in a city like New York or Portland or San Francisco or. . . Nashville.

We’ll see where God will let me go. Or stay.

Posted by: thelmabowlen | December 26, 2009

Christmas Day 2009

Christmas Day 2009, originally uploaded by thelmabowlen.

We had no agenda other than to stop by Bethel World Outreach Center to take pictures for Festival of the Nations for their hosting of a Christmas service for the Burmese community of Nashville. Kyera took photos; I took images for Bethel’s social media sites.

Since we had no plans for ourselves for the day other than watching Sherlock Holmes, we settled on a cinema in an area we hardly ever visit, Cool Springs. We didn’t get to Fandango our tickets so when we got there, all screenings until 7PM were sold out.

Happy to leave and drive around, we went on a search for an open Starbucks in nearby Downtown Franklin.

Everything was closed which was a perfect opportunity to take pictures.

Posted by: thelmabowlen | December 25, 2009

Christmas 2009 in Nashville

Bowlen Christmas

In our living room in Nashville. Photographer/Art Director/Graphic Designer: Kyera Models: Rocco the Yorkie, Kirby the Mixed, and Me the Mom

Posted by: thelmabowlen | December 23, 2009

The Spirit of Christmas Present

The Filipino penchant for Christmas is assumed to be something collectively shared by all Filipinos. My colleagues caught me listening to Christmas songs last May and naturally thought that I am a huge fan of December 25th. (I happened to chance upon an iTunes radio station that played Christmas songs and found myself listening longer than intended and tweeting about it.)

Am I a fan of Christmas? Yes and no.

Yes, because it’s the traditional date that we celebrate the coming of our Savior. Without which, we would have no hope at all. At. All.

No, because I don’t like the traffic and I wish I were a millionaire so I could pull an Ellen and buy people ah-mah-zing gifts.

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