the paper vision

The Color Of Fall

2008-11-23T22:24:00.000-08:00

Finally was able to take some photos again today. I've been dying to used my camera for days now but I never get a chance to snap some photos because of my busy schedule. I really want to get some fall family photos but unfortunately I never could get a spare time to do it. I'm am hoping this week I will be able to get some before the thanks giving at least. Anyway my today photo theme is the color of fall. I really love the color of trees at theses time of the year. It's so bright and colorful which I find really pretty. But here in Texas the colors of the trees change little bit different compare up north where most of the tree leaves change colors at the same month of the year. Were I live only certain trees only change colors , some doesn't even change colors at all. I think because Texas is a warm State and if the temperature goes down below 40's it usually does not last long. I would really love to go up north sometime to experience and see how beautiful fall really is. I heard it really a pretty to see the mountains especially when the trees change colors. Anyway, I'm still glad that at least some of the trees change color here that able me to see and experience how wonderful fall season is.. ;)

Update!!

2008-11-16T22:07:00.000-08:00

Hello world! It's been awhile that I have not updated this photo blog of mine. Tonight when I start tapping my key boards and update my other blog I felt that I needed to update this photo blog of mine. So I browse hundreds and of my photos and found this one that I took when we went for vacation at orange Beach. This was taken at the place Bellingrath Gardens and Home located at Mobile AL. The place was stunning by the way the scene was gorgeous and so many interesting creatures and flowers to see. Definitely a eye candy for those who are so into nature photography. I wish we stayed a bit longer when we went there. Too bad we were such in a rush that day because we dont want to miss the ferry back to Forth Morgan.

Another Year Older..

2008-09-28T16:59:00.000-07:00

Geshh I felt like I have not blog for years. It's been like a month and a half since my last post here. I'm wondering if there's anybody visiting this blog. If there is thanks to you guys who find time to stop "or walk" by..;) So what I have been doing while I was away and not blogging? I have been fixing my PC lol. I totally lock out from my PC, was infected by virus and spyware. After 3 weeks of figuring out how to fix it, I finally able to get it working again. Good thing I save all my photos "extremely important to me" and scrap booking files at my external hard drive. I lost a lot of program and "some files" which took me 3 days to re install everything. The good news is everything working great and I can start blogging and editing my photos once again..;)
Anway I am another year older this month and yep I definitely felt old lol. I celebrate my B-day with my boys and took few photos for memories of course. To celebrate my B-day Ill share you some photos I took that day..;) hope you like it..;)

SHOW OFF!

2008-08-10T09:00:00.000-07:00

Meet Icky Bud the hereon who is showing off " he's actually dying his feathers lol" at the top of my in law boat house after his hearty fresh catch fish lunch. The funny thing about this bird is every morning he/she peaks at my in laws porch waiting for my father in law to feed him/her. He's/She's almost like a pet to my in laws and I think he also thinks that my in laws are his/her family. He's pretty obedient bird too. He/She usually come out flying out of his/her nest one you called out his/her name. My father in law is the only one who can really get close to him/her. He also say that he/she is pretty territorial and he never lets any birds get too close at my in laws house.

Sit Back and Relax

2008-08-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Enjoy the sunset. Too bad I'm not at Orange Beach right now. I really wish we live closer to the beach. Since we came back from our ten day vacation I keep dreaming of buying a house near the beach. I keep telling my husband that we have to move down south state like the south of Alabama or Florida. We really would love to move where my in laws vacation house is. Problem is; it will cost us a arm and a leg to be able to afford the houses there lol. My husband joke around about it saying "we can get a house there but we will be in dept until to our eyeball". I certainly don't like that at all. So yeah I will just keep on dreaming of SOMEDAY. Maybe that someday we will be able to afford one of those houses at Ono Island...But for now I will just keep on dreaming and enjoy the sunset photos instead..;) I hope you enjoy it too..

I'm off..

2008-07-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

For ten days vacation to Orange beach so I might not be blogging often. We are leaving tomorrow morning but I will leave you with this photo..;)

After Long Day Of Flight

2008-07-10T21:18:00.000-07:00

Like this Dragonfly I want to just sit back and relax at this moment before I go to bed. It's been a long day for me today, not to mention my body aches. I know I know why I'm suffering here if I can drink some medicine right?! Because I hate medicine "Ecck YUCK!". I only drink medicine if I really can not bare the pain anymore. So as long I can manage to bare the pain of my muscle I will never drink medicine. Why my body aches? I have been trying to be fit again; I really want to lose this excess flabby fat lol. I bought an exercise DVD from the store three days ago and I have been fallowing the exercise routine everyday. I also start morning walks again so at least I won’t feel like a slob all day hahaha. Right now I planning to make a schedule of times when I can only be in front of the PC, so I can limit my time sitting down staring at the PC like a maniac. Anyway to all who left me a comment about my photos, I would like to say…Thank you!! Tank you so much! I really appreciate all your nice comments..;)

Halloween and Costumes

2008-07-10T20:54:00.000-07:00

This photo of my boys was taken last years Halloween. As you can see they both dress up as cowboys. I did not really plan them both to have the same costume but when my youngest seen his brother outfit he begs me to be a cowboys too. Took me hours finding another cowboy’s costume because the store that I went to was sold out which is very frustrating. This year I plan to buy my boys costume online at http://www.incostume.com to avoid the hassle of being in the crowded store. The thing I like about this place is they have so many variety of costume to pick from that you don’t usually see at any store like their Movie Costumes. My son Andrew is telling me that he really like the Wall-E this Halloween and I’m sure Adam want to be an astronaut because he’s been talking about it for almost a week now. I might even get one for me and my Husband this year. Well, we will see.

Busy As Can Bee..

2008-07-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

Are you busy as the bee this week? I know I do but yet I find time to blog don't I? lol Yep I guess I'm just too addicted to this blogging thing and everyday I try to squeeze in few minutes of my time to write something or just simply peak on my blog. Yep so crazy about this blogging thing hahaha. Ok lets talk about the photo now. This photo was taken at the lake side few weeks ago "i think its been 3 weeks or so". I actually forgotten about this photos until I saw them yesterday while browsing through hundreds of my photos. My favorite of this three shot is the first one. I love the feeling of being under water maybe because of all the blue at the back ground.

Gennies Luck

2008-07-09T08:08:00.000-07:00

This tag is from Adie I did not had a chance to do it soon. But anyway thank you so much girl for the tag..;)

So what is the Magic Lamp of Luck is all about eh? Well here is something from the Genies…

Alakazam!

The mighty Genie King and the beautiful Genie Princess from the magical Land of Faraway are back! Upon escaping the clutches of their Evil Master after being held captive for 1000 years, the magical genies have been busy flying on their Magical Flying Carpet, granting wishes and spreading love throughout the blogosphere.

And now, the genies are back with a special gift for everyone! Behold the sacred, Magic Lamp of Luck! With this magic lamp, your blog will enjoy much good luck and fortune, warding off all things evil lurking around in the blogosphere. We would like to share this magic lamp with you so please pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to those in need of some good luck. Remember, do not be greedy or unkind, evil or vengeful and good luck & fortune will always be with you! Join us on another exciting magical adventure as we spread goodwill and good luck to one and all.

* Start Copy Here*

1. Add your site(s) to the list once you have received the Magic Lamp of Luck.

2. Pass on the Magic Lamp of Luck to as many people as you like. After all, everyone needs some good luck!

3. Leave a comment HERE once you’ve passed on the Magic Lamp of Luck. Once the Genie King and Genie Princess have visited your site to make sure your links are complete and proper, you will then be added to the Master List.

4. To ensure everyone receives equal link benefit, please UPDATE your list regularly!

1-Mariuca 2-First Time Dad 3-Mariuca's Perfume Gallery 4-Emila's Illustrated Blog 5-The Other Side of Emila 6-My Sweet Escape 7-Bay Head Blog 8-Roxiticus Desperate Housewives 9-LadyJava's Lounge 10-Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen 11-The Real Deal 12-Pinay Mommy Online 13-Perpustakaan 14-LadyJava Life's Pages 15-Make Money Online 16-Cat Tales 17-LadyJava's Food Paradise 18-Being Woman 19-Spicybug 20-Biz-N-Honey 21-Aeirin's Collections 22-Sasha Say s 23-Project Heavy Traffic 24-Picture Clusters 25-My Wanderings 26-Maiylah's Snippets 27-Moments of Colours 28-Life Quest 29-BigMoneyList 30-The Best Parts 31-Morphed 32-Buhay Pinoy 33-Galatayo 34-Blogging Tips 35-Apples Of The Eyes 36-My Own Utopia 37-Sasha's Corner 38-Under One Roof 39-Say Cheese 40-A Great Pleasure 41-A Life in Bloom 42-Because Life is a Blessing 43-Digiscraptology 44-Xixi 45-Ode to Adrienne 46-CrankyDave 47-Simple Life 48-Dew Drops 49-The Journey 50-Mastering Your PC 51-Day Break 52-A Little Girl Talk 53-Mom Knows Everything 54-Day to Day 55-1 of a Kind Wis 56-It's a woman's world! 57-Breather 58-Photo Hook 59-Letterbox 60-Asian Mutt International 61-Dream Doe Philosophy 62-MommyAlehs Up-Close And Personal 63-Livin' the Life! 64-Restnrileks 65-English Corner 66-English Grammar 67-Bodybuilding & Fitness 68-Everything you need 69-One Stop Games 70-Blockbluster Movie Trailers 71-Bodybuilding & Human Growth Hormone 72-World of Tennis 73-Men's Health & Tips 74-Internet Marketing Strategy & Tips 75-Latest Technology 76-Tentang Binaraga 77-Berita Seputar Selebriti 78-Panduan Kesehatan 79-Insurance For You 80-Crissy's Zone 81-Crissy's Library 82-Crissy's Haven 83-sHeNzEe's wOrLd 84-Voice Of The Spirit 85-Best Cuisine Recipes 86-Stand My Ground 87-SeeNRead 88-This Is A Miracle 89-I AM KCAT 90-Traipsey Turvey 91-GBeX & DOm 92-Spun By A Seanachie 93-ISL Family 94-D' Cooking Mudra 95-'Story' the Great 96-UmmiRosma 97-Munirah Abd 98-Atie 99-My so called life 100-Beyond being a MOM 101-The Paper Vision

*End Copy Here*

Now I,m tagging everyone on my link exchange..;) Enjoy!

He's Watching You!

2008-07-07T17:32:00.001-07:00

This photo was taken last July the 4th celebration at Fire Wheel mall. Geesh! The place was pack and very crowed. I notice a lot of people came this year than last year. There so many cops around to keep everyone safe and keep the traffic flows smoothly. This police was standing at the roof top of the World Market for hours keeping on eye of any trouble on the ground. I took four photos of him in two different times while we are watching the band. In all four shots, I this is two photos I took at sunset are the best one..;)

Happy 4th of JULY!

2008-07-04T12:10:00.000-07:00

Photo Hunt "Bright"

2008-06-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

I really love this bright colored flowers that my neighbor grow at their yard. There is actually four different color but this is the only one I was able to get a shot yesterday. One more thing I like about this flowers are they are so easy to grow and don't need a lot of care. My neighbor actually gave me some buds which I was plan to plant tomorrow with my boys. I was planning to get some more photo's later this afternoon or tomorrow " I have party to attend this afternoon".

Travel 7 Continents

2008-06-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

I Actually have to grab this one from one of the blogger while I'm dropping EC not too long ago. I kinda need to boost my technorati here so this is the perfect way for me boost it up. If you guys want to boost your technorati you can grab this post it on your blog too.. ;)

~Begin Copy~

Rules :

1. Start Copy from "Begin Copy" until "End Copy".

2. Put your blog's name and url write in which continent you live, add the country you live in. Example : My Imaginary Travels (Netherlands)

3. Leave your url post in here and I'll add you to the Master List.

4. Please help spread this tag by tagging your friends as much as you can.

5. Don't play unfair! If you have more than 1 blog, you can participate all your blogs for this tag. BUT you will have to post this tag to all your blogs as well. So, please. Don't cheat!

6. Please come back again to copy the update of the master list, often. This process will help new participants to get the same gains as the first participants.

7. Don't forget to use the banner at your post, you can save as or you can just copy the code in here.

Master List :

A. Asia : 1. Moms... Check Nyo (Philippines) 2. Aeirin's Collections (Philippines) 3. Jenny and Belle(Philippines) 4. Hailey's Beats and Bits (Philippines) 5. Appleofmyeyes(Saudi Arabia) 6. Deranged Insanity (Philippines) 7. PROJECT HEAVY TRAFFIC (Singapore) 8. Rooms of My Heart (Indonesia) 9. Blessings and Beyond (Philippines) 10. lancerlord (Singapore) 11. allinkorea (Korea) 12. kimchiland (Korea) 13. korean food (Korea) 14. idealpinkrose (Korea) 15. Pinay Mommy Online (Philippines) 16. Momhood Moments (Philippines) 17. Business Mars (Philippines) 18. Maiylah’s Snippets (Philippines) 19. Picture Clusters (Philippines) 20. My Wanderings (Philippines) 21. Hit-or-Miss (Philippines) 22. Life Quest (Philippines) 23. FunFierceFabulous (Phils) 24. and Life Goes On for... (Philippines) 25. Moments of Colours (Philippines) 26. Making sense… (somehow) (Philippines) 27. Day To Day (Philippines) 28. My Happy Place 29. Me and Mine (Japan) 30. Little Peanut (Japan) 31. Creative In Me (Japan) 32. Pea in a Pod (Japan) 33. A Slice of Life (Phils) 34. Jenny Said So (Phils) 35. Live it Up... (Philippines) 36. A Sweet Taste Of Life (Philippines) 37. Through The Rain (Philippines) 38. Sugarmagnolias (Japan) 39. ParentZine育兒好好玩 (Singapore) 40. We are Family (PH) 41. Reference Notes (Hong Kong) 42. The Sweet Life 43. A Great Pleasure (Malaysia) 44. Lalaine's World ( Thailand) 45. Proud Mommy (Philippines) Petty Ramblings of a Petty Queen(Malaysia) 47. The Real Deal (Malaysia) 48. My Sweet Escape (Malaysia) 49. Mommy Earns Money Online (Philippines) 50. Pexlinks Triple Love (Philippines) 51. OnlineBiz and Resources (Philippines) 52. LadyJava's Lounge (Malaysia) 53. LadyJava Life's Pages (Malaysia) 54. Being Woman (Malaysia), 55. Cat Tales (Malaysia) 56. Make Money Online (Malaysia) 57. LadyJava's Food Paradise (Malaysia) 58. Lourdes' Mia (Philippines) 59. Miss Write (Philippines) 60. Me, Myself+2 (Phils) 61. Moments of My Life 62. My Deepest & Honest Thoughts (Malaysia) 63. Crissy's Haven 64. Strangely Out of Place (Philippines) 65. Frozen Moments (India) 66. NER: Never Ending Resolve (Philippines) 67. Mindjuice in Full Throttle 68. Straight from the Heart 69. Creative Thoughts (Philippines) 70. Emila’s Illustrated Blog 71. WilStop (Philippines), 72. Alanzain-home decor world (Malaysia) 73. Let's talk-everything in one space (Malaysia) 74. Tiklaton (Pilipinas) 75. Digiscraptology (Philippines) 76. A Life in Bloom (Philippines) 77. Because Life is a Blessing (Philippines) 78. Day to Day Miracles 79. Budget Traveler 80. The Success (Indonesia) 81. Lets Travel Philippines (Philippines) 82. enlaceré. tordu. (Singapore) 83.Blessings in Life (Philippines) 84. Tere’s World (Philippines) 85. Journey in Life (Philippines) 86. Thoughts and Beyond (Philippines) 87. Geng's Journal (Philippines) 88. e-Shopping (India) 89. Tippy-Tips 90. Life and Me (Singapore) 91. Xploring Asia ( Singapore) 92. Baboyita (Philippines) 93. A Place Of Being (Philippines) 94. Bits and Pieces (Philippines) 95. Asian Mutt International (Malaysia) 96. An Anonymous Journal (Malaysia) 97. WebGeek Journal (Philippines) 98. BlogScope (Philippines) 99. The Mind The Heart The Lines (Malaysia) 100.BoBo the Bimbo (Singapore) 101.Sjtl (Philippines) 102. Crissy's Zone (PHIL) 103. [S]hiphire [D]ominion (Malaysia) 104. All about your children (Singapore) 105. Hardy Chen Power Blog (Indonesia) 106. Rien Mais Tout, Nothing But All (Malaysia) 107. your turn

B. Australia : 1. Reflexes (Australia) 2. Emcee 3. Outback-Pinay 4. Collect and Connect (Australia) 5. Stand My Ground (Australia) 6. Alive (Australia) 7. your turn

C. Afrika : 1. your turn

D. North Amerika : 1. Simple Life, Simply Me (USA) 2. Pinaymama's Diary (USA) 3. 3 Garnets & 2 Sapphires (United States) 4.Traipsey Turvey (USA) 5. Dabawenyako (USA) 6. Icelog (USA) 6. The Misadventures of an Ordinary Housewife (USA) 7. It Is Nap Time (US) 8.A Mother's Journal (USA) 9. Journey And Journal [USA] 10. Life is good and beautiful (USA) 11. Tasteful Voyage (USA) 12. Jenny's Wandering Thoughts (USA) 13. Mom Knows Everything (Canada) 14. Filipino love stories (USA) 15. A Mom's Note (USA) 16. Life with the Two Crazy Dogs 17. BLOGSILOG (USA) 18. Juliana’s World ( New York, USA) 19. My Daily Discourse (USA) 20. 20. My Point Of View 21. My Blog Entry (USA) 22. This Side of Eternity (MI, USA) 23. The Paper Vision (USA) 24.Beyond Being A Mom(USA) 25.My So called life(USA) 26. Blogging By Sandee (USA) 27. Comedy Plus (USA) 28. My Life... My Journey!(USA) 29. Your Fun Family (USA) 30. Big Money List (Canada) 31. your turn

E. South Amerika : 1. your turn

F. Europe : 1. My Imaginary Travels (Netherlands) 2. Juliana's Site (Netherlands) 3. Picturing of Life (Netherlands) 4. SuperMae (Portugal) 5. The Callalily Space (The Netherlands) 6. Portia (UK) 7. Daily Grind (Germany) 8. Amel's Realm (Finland) 9. Mummy Diaries (England) 10. Mirage as Usual (Austria) 11. Say Cheese (DE) 12. Ramblings of an ad hoc doctor (United Kingdom) 13. Love Defies All (England) 14. your turn

G. Antarctica : 1. your turn

The Ants

2008-06-21T21:38:00.000-07:00

This afternoon while my little boys are taking a nice nap. I was reading the comment reply of the question tip I ask the micro groups the other week about me having problem getting a nice focus micro shot. One of the user replied about me trying to lowering down my aperture which I don't usually do when I'm shooting small objects or insects. After that I went outside and was lucky enough to see a bunch of ants around the flower vines that are hanging at the side of our fence. I did different aperture and compare what are the difference between each photo. Wooah! I'm so happy that I finally figure out the right setting and was happy to get a really nice micro shot of this little fire ants..;) cant wait o get some photos nice and scrips micro photos next time [I definitely need to plan to go to arboretum this week lol]..;)

Photo Hunt "WATER"

2008-06-20T22:19:00.000-07:00

Help For Cure Of Serena

2008-06-19T22:49:00.000-07:00

The worst parent’s nightmare that could happen is being in the position helplessness. Especially when in come to our children. As a parent my self, the one thing that I really want is to see my kid’s healthy and happy at all times. There are things that come in our lives as a parent when we face the most scary and challenging situation involving our child. We struggle to find all means to save our child and by all means meaning if I have to beg million of people for help I will surely do it to save my child life.
That is what exactly 3 years old Serena parents are facing today. They are desperate of help to save their daughter life. Serena has this rare cancer called Neuroblastoma and her family needs some financial support to get a revolutionary treatment here in United State. So I’m calling all the kind hearted people out there to help even just ONE DOLLAR to help this family financially save their daughter’s life. Anyway help available [like prayers and encouragements] from you all will sure be appreciated by the family.

***click on the banner if you want to make a donation***

What is neuroblastoma?

Neuroblastoma is a cancerous tumor that begins in nerve tissue of infants and very young children. The abnormal cells are often found in the nerve tissue that is present in the unborn baby and later develops into a detectable tumor. Neuroblastoma is rare in children older than 10 years of age, however, it does occur occasionally in adults.

The tumor usually begins in the tissues of the adrenal gland found in the abdomen, but may also begin in nerve tissue in the neck, chest, and/or pelvis. The adrenal glands are positioned on top of the kidneys. These glands secrete hormones and other important substances that are required for normal functions in the body such as the nervous system.

In the US, approximately 650 children are diagnosed with neuroblastoma each year. It is often present at birth, but not detected until the tumor begins to grow and compress the surrounding organs. Most children affected by neuroblastoma have been diagnosed before the age of 5. In rare cases, neuroblastoma can be detected before birth by a fetal ultrasound. It is the most common tumor found in children younger than 1 year of age. For unknown reasons, it occurs slightly more often in males than in females.

Neuroblastoma cancer cells can spread (metastasize) quickly to other areas of the body (i.e., lymph nodes, liver, lungs, bones, central nervous system, and bone marrow). Approximately 70 percent of all children diagnosed with neuroblastoma will have some metastatic disease.

What causes neuroblastoma?

Most neuroblastoma cells have genetic abnormalities involving chromosome #1, where a deletion or rearrangement is found on the short arm of this chromosome. The chromosome abnormality, in turn, causes amplification of an oncogene called MYCN, even though this gene is not located on chromosome #1. The amplification of MYCN causes uncontrolled cell growth. A variety of other chromosome abnormalities may also be present in neuroblastoma.

It is estimated that as many as 20 percent of neuroblastoma cases result from an inherited mutation, followed by a second mutation occurring after birth, which together initiate uncontrolled cell growth. The remainder of the cases occur from two acquired mutations after birth. Because the tumor occurs very early in childhood, it is doubtful that any environmental exposures the child has incurred could be linked to the development of the tumor.

Neuroblastoma is more common in children born with fetal hydantoin syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. The exact relationship between these conditions and the disease are not known.

The chance for neuroblastoma to be present in a future sibling of the patient is about 1 percent. If more than one child has neuroblastoma, the chance for reoccurrence increases.

Research is being conducted to determine if maternal exposure to any toxic substances, environmental pollutions, or radiation during pregnancy could have any link to the child developing neuroblastoma.

What are the symptoms of neuroblastoma?

The following are the most common symptoms of neuroblastoma. However, each child may experience symptoms differently. The symptoms of neuroblastoma vary greatly depending on size, location, and spread of the tumor. Symptoms may include:

abdominal mass, either felt during an examination or seen as swollen abdomen
tumors in the face or head can cause swelling and bruising of the area around the eyes and uncontrolled eye movement
compression of kidney or bladder by the tumor may cause changes in urination
bone marrow involvement may present as pain, limping, paralysis, or weakness
diarrhea may be present; diarrhea is caused by a substance produced by the tumor (vasoactive intestinal peptide, or VIP)
fever
high blood pressure and increased heart rate may occur depending on location of tumor and the organs the tumor compresses

The symptoms of neuroblastoma may resemble other conditions or medical problems. Always consult your child's physician for a diagnosis.

How is neuroblastoma diagnosed?

In addition to a complete medical and physical examination, diagnostic procedures for neuroblastoma may include the following:

blood tests - including a complete blood count, blood chemistries, kidney and liver function tests, and a urinalysis.
multiple imaging studies - to evaluate primary tumor and determine extent/location of any metastases, including:
- computed tomography scan (Also called a CT or CAT scan.) - a diagnostic imaging procedure that uses a combination of x-rays and computer technology to produce cross-sectional images (often called slices), both horizontally and vertically, of the body. A CT scan shows detailed images of any part of the body, including the bones, muscles, fat, and organs. CT scans are more detailed than general x-rays.
- magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - a diagnostic procedure that uses a combination of large magnets, radiofrequencies, and a computer to produce detailed images of organs and structures within the body.
- x-ray - a diagnostic test which uses invisible electromagnetic energy beams to produce images of internal tissues, bones, and organs onto film.
- ultrasound (Also called sonography.) - a diagnostic imaging technique which uses high-frequency sound waves and a computer to create images of blood vessels, tissues, and organs. Ultrasounds are used to view internal organs as they function, and to assess blood flow through various vessels.
- bone scans - pictures or x-rays taken of the bone after a dye has been injected that is absorbed by bone tissue. These are used to detect tumors and bone abnormalities.
bone marrow aspiration and/or biopsy - a procedure that involves taking a small amount of bone marrow fluid (aspiration) and/or solid bone marrow tissue (called a core biopsy), usually from the hip bones, to be examined for the number, size, and maturity of blood cells and/or abnormal cells.
spinal tap/lumbar puncture - a special needle is placed into the lower back, into the spinal canal. This is the area around the spinal cord. The pressure in the spinal canal and brain can then be measured. A small amount of cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) can be removed and sent for testing to determine if there is an infection or other problems. CSF is the fluid that bathes your child's brain and spinal cord.
biopsy of primary tumor and/or metastatic lesions

Diagnosing neuroblastoma also involves staging and classifying the disease which determines treatment options and prognosis. Staging is the process of determining whether cancer has spread and, if so, how far. There are various staging systems that can be used for neuroblastoma. Always consult your child's physician for information on staging. One method of staging neuroblastoma is the following:

stage 1 - involves a tumor that does not cross the midline of the body, is completely resectable, and has not spread to other areas of the body. The lymph nodes on the same side of the body as the tumor do not have cancer cells present.
stage 2A - involves a tumor that does not cross the midline of the body, but is not completely resectable. This stage of tumor has not spread to other areas of the body, and lymph nodes on the same side as the tumor do not have tumor cells present.
stage 2B - involves a tumor that may or may not be completely resectable, has not spread to other areas of the body, but lymph nodes on the same side of the tumor have tumor cells present. Lymph nodes on the opposite side of the tumor must be negative for tumor cells in this stage of disease.
stage 3 - involves a tumor that crosses the midline of the body, is not completely resectable, and lymph nodes are positive for tumor cells. This stage also includes a tumor that does not cross the midline, but the lymph nodes on the opposite side also contain tumor cells.
stage 4 - involves a tumor that has metastasized to distant lymph nodes, bone marrow, liver, skin, and/or other organs (except as defined in stage 4S).
stage 4S - a child is younger than 12 months and has a tumor that may have metastasized (spread) to liver, skin, and/or bone marrow (includes minimal bone marrow involvement; more extensive bone marrow involvement should be classified as stage 4). The tumor is on one side of the body and is localized. It may have spread to the lymph nodes on the same side of the body.

Treatment for neuroblastoma:

Specific treatment for neuroblastoma will be determined by your child's physician based on:

your child's age, overall health, and medical history
extent of the disease
your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
expectations for the course of the disease
your opinion or preference

Treatment may include (alone or in combination):

surgery (for tumor and/or metastatic resection, and removal of lymph nodes involved)
chemotherapy
radiation therapy
bone marrow transplant and peripheral blood stem cell transplantation
retinoid therapy
supportive care (for the side effects of treatment)
antibiotics (to prevent/treat infections)
continuous follow-up care (to determine response to treatment, recurrent disease, and late effects of treatment)

Treatment options should be discussed with your child's physician.

Long-term outlook for a child with neuroblastoma:

Prognosis greatly depends on:

the extent of the disease.
the size and location of the tumor.
a presence or absence of metastasis.
the tumor's response to therapy.
the age and overall health of your child.
your child's tolerance of specific medications, procedures, or therapies.
new developments in treatment.

As with any cancer, prognosis and long-term survival can vary greatly from individual to individual. Prompt medical attention and aggressive therapy are important for the best prognosis. Continuous follow-up care is essential for a child diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Side effects of radiation and chemotherapy, as well as recurrence of the disease, can occur in survivors of neuroblastoma. New methods are continually being discovered to improve treatment and to decrease side effects.

Playing with Adam's Photos

2008-06-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Last night I was playing with some of my son Adam on Photo shop. I was able to stumble by this blog who is giving away nine action pre set which I think is really nice. It's seen awhile that Ive played with my photos, so last night I had a chance to play using the pre set I downloaded. Usually when I open my photo shop the usual thing I do is ad text to my photos and adjust the lightning a bit. I don't really have a lot of time playing with all my photos at times. I used to have pre set actions but I accidentally deleted them. It's kinda suck because i paid for it too, plus it so much easier to edit photos with a pre set action [I'm thinking of buying again but don't have extra cash right now]. Anyway here are Adam photos that I played with last night [I used the free action by the way with this photos].

Hello Lady Bug

2008-06-16T12:54:00.000-07:00

I so trying hard to do some macro photo's so far I was not completely happy with my shots. Simply mean I have to learn to do it right. The other day I posted a help tips at flick'r and I was so happy for all the tips and advice from member's of the groups. I was thinking also of buying a D40x Guide book since my son broke my CD. Anyway here's my photo of the day. this photo was taken at The White rock lake last Friday afternoon..;)

To All Fathers In The World!!

2008-06-15T12:01:00.000-07:00

What are you looking at?!

2008-06-14T11:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was able to go to the lake my self and my camera. I left the boys with my father that afternoon so I can spend few hours relaxing and enjoy the day with the thing I love to do. I spend about fours hours taking photos and hanging around the lake. It was pretty nice relaxing day for me yesterday. I have in luck of getting really nice photos of insect and few wild flowers living on the side of the lake. I was hoping to go to the arboretum today for flower and butterflies photos, to bad my father have to work today. But I'm still glad that he watch my boys yesterday though..;)

Gem after rain

2008-06-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

I have this photo for few week now in on my flick I just don't have time to post it because I been juggling too much things in my life right now. That's why as you can see I don't update blog [even my other blog] as often as I want to. I tried to squeeze blogging if I have spare time between family and school. I don't even have time to just enjoy and taking photos lately. Hopefully when my class end 3 weeks from now I can breath a bit easily [well of course I have to study for the state exam]. Anyway, this week we have a nice weather here in Texas. The have few days of rain and even it's warm today, the wind is cool and feel really good[especially when your sitting under the shade]. This photo by the way was taken at our backyard after rain I took a lot of photos but this two are my favorite.

Wild Flower

2008-06-05T09:06:00.000-07:00

Whenever I look at this photos of the wild flower I took few weeks ago, one thing came into my mind right away. It's a dancing lady, ehh maybe not but it sure like one to me. Especially when you stare at it for few minutes, don't stare to long though you might hurt your eyes. Anyway I took this photos when me and my son Adam were walking through the jogging path near our house. Our neighbor wood always sprinkle wild flowers seeds every year so once it start sprouting and bloom everyone in the neighborhood can enjoy them [thats one reason why I love our neighborhood]. I took photos of them so I can share it to everyone so you all can enjoy it too..

Beauty that Surround Our House

2008-05-27T22:17:00.000-07:00

I haven't a lot of photos lately because I have been busy doing so many things everyday. I really want to go out by myself and enjoy taking photo but the problems is no one will watch my boys for me. It's very hard to take photos when I have to worry about my two boys. Not to mention the constant wanting my attention from me anywhere we go makes it more impossible to take any photos at all. I definitely need to get my husband to watch my boys for few hours on of theses day, so I can go out and enjoy snapping photos else where other than around our yard. But hey, there are so many thing you can find even in your backyard, if you look closely you could find something that definitely will catch your attention. So yep if you don't have anytime to go someplace's to get some photo I recommend you to try it around your back yard. There's so many surprising things you can capture with your camera. Like these photos I captured from our yard.

Working with My Micro Shots

2008-05-13T19:15:00.000-07:00

Gessh I never thought it would be so hard to do take micro photos. You definitely got to have a good steady hand to get a really crisp and well focus shots. Since I was not a pro on this, I did try my best to get a nice micro shot like I saw at flickr's "dang I droll of envy looking at those amazing micro photos". Only thing is usually they have better camera than mine lol. I definitely have to upgrade my camera next year “gotta save again”. Anyway well I tried taking micro shot here and there, a lot of failure shot because my hand wasn’t steady enough “I guess” or maybe the setting of my camera “I don’t now“. But mostly I took came out blurry which I don’t like and deleted most of them. On the other hand I find some I can call better than the other which I’m quite happy with. I will have to keep on trying and practice all the time until I can get a prefect micro shot that I can truly show off hehehe. Anyway as I said at my last post, I'm going to share some micro shot with you all and these are the one that I can say the best of all lol.I have some more of it but I will share to you all this fisrt batch then on my next post will share some more of this. So I hope you all enjoy my photos..