Mommy and Me

This post is in memory of my mother who passed away 11 years ago. Last weekend was her death anniversary. I still miss her to this day. She's the person I love most in the world and I cannot think of her without getting emotional. I miss her and I wish she could have seen my daughter.

This picture, with a mosque behind us, was taken when I was about 5 years old at Nayong Pilipino. It's a big park that features the different regions of the Philippines with their famous landmarks. It's like a mini vacation and seeing the places without actually going there. There are replicas of places like the Chocolate Hills of Bohol and the Cagsawa Ruins of Bicol. She used to bring me here often. Nayong Pilipino has now relocated from Manila to Clark in Pampanga. It's not very accessible anymore but I hope to bring my daughter there one day.



Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

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Yaku Japanese Grill

A friend at work is migrating to Canada and our lunch group had it's farewell lunch for her at Yaku Japanese Grill at the 3rd floor of the Podium. It was a happy affair with lots of reminiscing and laughter. This was my first time to dine at Yaku and I was pleasantly surprised that the food was good and the prices reasonable. The servings were small but there was enough for everyone to have a taste. The best thing is we felt full but not stuffed after.

Enoki Bacon

Yakiniku

Aspara Bacon

  Ebi Tempura

Ankake Tofu

Rice with beef toppings (I forgot what it's called in the menu)

Yakimeshi Rice

Yasay Itame

Butabara

Negima

A photo to remember our farewell lunch taken at Segafredo where we had our coffee and dessert. We all had identical orders: Coffee with Frozen Braso de Mercedes.

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2011 Starbucks Diary

Started collecting stickers for my 2011 Starbucks Diary today. I got the Peppermint Mocha (love it!) and my friends, who donated their stickers got, Americano and another Peppermint Mocha. I don't have pictures of the diaries but they were on display. I like the one with the red velvet cover. I hope I get more sticker donations. There's a Starbucks in the library at work and if I hang around there I just might complete my sticker requirement with minimal cashout  :)

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Toddlers, The Great Imitators

Toddlers learn a lot by imitating and trying out new things and it's amusing to see. I found these photos on my mobile while deleting files. They made me smile.

Playing doctor to her stuffed dog Chao Pai.

Buying groceries with Mommy.

Looking all grown up.

Children like playing pretend. Since their social circle is limited at this point, they mostly imitate Mommy, Daddy and other people in the household. It  forces the adults to be on their best behavior by being good role models. The child's personality is becoming more evident as she learns more of the world she lives in. Providing a good example at this stage will make it easier for the child to be disciplined later on in life and grown ups get to learn from their children as well.

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It's All in the Accent

I work in an organization where employees are of different nationalities. It's fun and interesting because it's not the usual workplace. Although English is the language used at work, the different accents of people make it very interesting if sometimes challenging.

A consultant from New Zealand once asked me, "Are you hippy today?" I replied that I was not a hippy. Then he said that he would like to take a picture with me because it was his last day. Ohhhh....I realized then he was asking if I was HAPPY that day.

Then there's the boss from mainland China who was asking me to change some data in an excel spreadsheet. He kept saying, "vanish it, vanish it." Huh? It took a while for me to figure it out. He wanted me to use the VALUE SHEET.

It's been especially challenging to take minutes of meetings. Hard enough that sometimes attendees have already discussed issues by email before the meeting and seem to continue the email discussion at the meeting, but to deal with the different accents (Indian, French, Australian, Italian, Singaporean, etc.) really drives me nuts.

It all just makes each day interesting.

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Beef Rendang

Been trying to learn Indonesian dishes for P so he wouldn't be too homesick for food. He's been subsisting mostly on fried chicken, KFC, Jollibee, McDonald's, Inasal, etc. He's tried them all. Most of my experiments have not been too successful though. Either the recipes were not good or I wasn't following it correctly or I did not have the right ingredients. Still, I keep on trying. My friend Karen got a Singaporean cookbook which had a lot of Indonesian and Malaysian dishes in it. I decided to try out the Beef Rendang although the recipe confused me a bit because it was not specific enough. I had to look up other recipes on the internet. So this is a combination of many recipes.

1/2 kilo beef brisket cut into cubes
1 cup grated coconut, lightly toasted
1 cup thick coconut milk
3 pieces dried tamarind, sliced thinly
Salt and pepper to taste
2 pieces kaffir lime leaves
1 piece turmeric leaf
1 piece salam leaf
1 cup cooking oil


Blend the following into a paste:
1 medium onion
6 pieces large garlic cloves
1 teaspoon minced ginger
a handful candlenuts (I used almonds as candlenuts were not available)
1 piece shallot


Add these to the blended paste:
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric poweder


Season beef cubes with salt and pepper and marinate for at least an hour.


Heat 1 cup cooking oil (in medium heat) in a large wok and fry the blended paste. Add the kaffir lime leaves, turmeric leaf and salam leaf and continue stirring until brown.


Add the sliced tamarind. Once the oil separates from the paste, add the marinated beef and cook in slow fire for 2 hours or until beef is tender. Stir once in a while and add a little water if the paste starts to dry up.


Add the grated coconut when the beef is almost tender and stir until well mixed. When the beef is tender, add the coconut milk. Mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste. Once oil starts to float on top, it is ready.


Serve with steamed rice.


This time my experiment worked out well. P said it was good and I brought leftovers to work to have my friends taste it and they liked it too.

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Quality Time

I have had very little time to spend with the Twerp lately because of work which brought "quality time" to mind. Many busy parents try to spend "quality time" with their children with what little time they can spare from work commitments.

But does quality time really help? Or are we just comforting ourselves by saying we spend quality time with our children even if it's just half a day on weekends?

I'm trying to make the most of the time before I go to work, having breakfast with her and after work playing a little. Daddy is also unable to spend much time with her since he has hospital duty. It helps that my office is walking distance from where we live but still, I feel that it's not enough and this is when she needs our presence most. She's learning and discovering new things everyday. I feel it's vital that we are there to guide her. In my case it's just two months out of a year during the peak season at work but how about parents whose schedules are busy all year round? Do children really benefit from "quality time" of maybe a few hours on a weekend when they spend the rest of the week with caregivers?

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Is It Too Early?

The Twerp is almost two and it's amazing how quickly she learns mentally and physically. But how about manners and proper behavior? I've been thinking about it because this is the way she prefers to sit. This is at Sabbath School and she's sitting in front, not really paying attention to the teacher but doing her own thing. See how she's sitting with her back to the others, the board and the teacher there in front. And she likes sitting  in the chair like that, like a boy.

I just let her be. There's time enough later to teach her these things or else she'll pick it up from me or other females and little girls. I enjoy watching her and everything she does, why she does them. Kids are just really amazing.

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A Plane Ride

The Twerp's second time on an airplane at 21 months. She enjoyed looking out the window at the clouds and the islands below. The plane ride was only about an hour.

Her first time on a plane was for a longer trip. She was 1 year old then. We did not have any problems as she asked for milk on take off and fell asleep. Same thing on the flight back.

This time, aside from looking out the window, she kept busy looking at the magazines and check out the seat, the tray table, the window shade, just about anything she could get her hands on.

Hosted by Krystyn at Really, Are You Serious?

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A New Yaya

The Twerp's yaya (caregiver) got pregnant so we've had to look for a replacement. I know it's very hard to find a yaya. The new one arrived last Thursday recommended by my cousin who first took care of my toddler. I was hesitant to get her because she's in her 50s. I prefer a young yaya who can get down to my toddler's level and have the energy to play with her.

Yesterday, preggy yaya went off duty promising to come back today. P's already been annoyed that she takes off overnight for more than 24 hours. He thinks she's taking too much time off but she's leaving anyway and trying to sort things out with her family. I thought it's a good time to ease Via into the new yaya. I had new yaya bathe Via and she cried all through the bath. I had her give Via her lunch and all she did was cry until she fell asleep with eating a bite. It's only been 2 days but Via's not taking to the new yaya at all and sticking to me like glue even more.

My aunt called yesterday saying that she might have a younger yaya for me, her neighbor's helper that's leaving her employment. I want to get this one but the older yaya is already here. Taking both of them to see which one works out well is an expense I can't afford but am tempted. In any case I don't know how to tell the other one we're letting her go for the younger one since she left her previous employment for us. What to do? What to do? This is an issue I knew would come and it's always made me anxious because I've been reading and hearing so much about yayas abusing children under their care. We really have to choose carefully and not just settle for the first one that comes along. Hopefully, she works out well.

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Pediatric Dentist

Yesterday I visited my office dentist to have my teeth cleaned. I had an appointment with the one who comes only once a week, sort of a reliever for the other dentists. She told me I was brushing my teeth wrong which caused abrasions on some teeth. This reminded me that I needed to get Via's teeth checked. I asked her if she knew of a good pediatric dentist. She opened her white coat to show her name on the scrubs she was wearing under. It said under her name, "Pediatric Dentist." What a great coincidence! I had thought it would be hard to find one because I've never heard of dentists for children before. So I asked for her card and made a mental note to bring the Twerp soon.

I've been concerned for a while about Via's teeth because she now has a full set for her age. I've read that milk formula is the number one culprit for tooth decay in children. I've been obsessive about brushing Via's teeth but she always has to have milk before going to sleep at night and there's no chance of brushing her teeth again. I can't give her water because the moment she finishes her milk, she's fast asleep. Haven't been able to cure her of that habit. I'm thankful that her teeth doesn't show any signs of damage yet.

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It's Not Fat, Just Big Bones

I had my unruly, wavy hair "relaxed" last week which took almost 3 hours. I got to read a lot of old magazines in the salon and wanted to share what I read in Women's Health about how to determine whether your body build is small, medium or large frame. 

Just take a tape measure and measure your wrist. 

• 5.25 - 6 inches is small frame
• 6 - 6.25 inches is medium frame
• over 6.25 is big frame

Mine measured 5 inches which makes me small frame which means I need to lose a lot more weight than I thought. More work at the gym for me. My friend Bex' wrist was just a tad over 6.25 so I told her she can always say, I'm not fat, I'm just big boned.

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How Rude!

We were at Powermac in Megamall Cyberzone yesterday looking for a cover for P's ipad. The store displays all the ipods and macbooks, etc. they have which people can try out. The ipod touch caught my eye because it was showing new games. Via and I went over there to check it out and P soon joined us. We were discussing which games to download when we were rudely pushed by a chubby boy of about 7 years old. I turned to look and he kept on shoving himself between us trying to get to the ipod touch all the while pushing P and me away with his hands. I heard a woman behind us, who I assumed was his mother, weakly call out something like "Aki." Probably his name. That was all. She went on about her business and the boy kept pushing us out of the way. I stared at the boy in disbelief. I have never seen such rudeness! I wanted to stand my ground and see what he would do next but then I thought, never mind. He's not my kid. 

I noticed that many kids these days lack manners and are loud and obnoxious. It bothers me even more that they seem to come from middle to upper class families and go to exclusive private schools. We seem to be raising a generation of brats and kids who feel entitled. Parents often don't have time to teach their children the values that were taught the generation before because they're busy with work or too many modern-day concerns. These kids are also given toys that cost a month's salary for some people.

It makes me worry what kind of world my daughter will be growing up in. I hope we are able to teach her old fashioned values and lay a good foundation before she goes off to school and be exposed to other children who might have a bad influence.

Small children should also not be given high tech, expensive gadgets as toys. It sends them the wrong message of having something expensive and not earning it. Also, it discourages them from going out, socializing and playing with other children their age.

Raising children is a big responsibility and very challenging, but more so in the environment that we are in now.

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Hip Accessory

These bracelets were made by my friend Girlie (she calls them breloques). I love how colorful they are. I am into simplifying these days and that extends to accessories. These make plain office clothes come alive.

 

If you like them, there are more styles to choose from at her multiply site.

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Old Friends

We all have friends that we have lost touch with. Once they were so much a part of our lives that we talked to them several times a day and see them all the time. I've had bestfriends at different times in my life. In elementary, high school, college, my first job...There were times when we separated just to go home and sleep, then are together again the next day. But as we move on in our life, we meet new people, make new friends and experience other things. It doesn't mean that they cease to be our bestfriends. I have kept in touch with all my old friends, even from elementary.

Last Friday I had dinner with my friend from college, Whilma and her husband. Our friend Judy couldn't make it. It came about because last week Judy came to my office for a job interview. We caught up with each other and wondered about Whilma. We lost touch with her several years ago when she resigned from her work. No mobile number or email.

I decided to look her up on facebook. No luck but I found her brother. I sent a message to him to which he replied giving me Whilma's mobile number. That was around lunchtime on Friday. After texting back and forth, we made plans to meet. We had dinner at Max's Fried Chicken in Greenbelt and had the Chicken all-you-can-eat promo. That was such a good deal. I haven't even finished my first chicken, here comes the waiter giving me my a second piece. I stopped with the second chicken. More than that feels like gluttony :)

It was funny because she couldn't believe all that has happened in my life since we last saw each other. I was shocked as well to know that my godchild (her eldest) is already working! Before separating that night, we made a vow to see each other regularly. I sure hope we do.

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Make Roads Safe Goodwill Ambassador Michelle Yeoh

Michelle Yeoh (a Malaysian actress who starred alongside Pierce Brosnan in the James Bond movie  Tomorrow Never Dies) and made a speech at the Transport Forum today in my office. We were all curious to see her. Some co-workers caught her after her speech at the forum to have their pictures taken. Because of her tight schedule, they had their pictures taken in one big group.

Michelle Yeoh made visits to the top officials where some tried to get a glimpse of her. We were lucky to have the opportunity to have our pictures taken then. She's sooooo slim and pretty!

Michelle Yeoh appeared in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon with Chow Yun Fat and Memoirs of a Geisha in 2005 among other movies she made. She was also Miss Malaysia 1983.

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Losing Weight - Finally!

Last year, when I signed up with Belletoday.com, I weighed 144 lbs. This weight kept on seesawing back and forth as much as every two days - going down to 140 lbs then 137 lbs then up to 142 lbs all in one week. I guess it's water retention. It was frustrating.

Last March when i started running during lunchtime, my weight stabilized at 140 lbs. Then in April, I decided to reduce the amount of rice I ate. I'm not a big rice eater so it was not a problem for me. I eat rice mostly because it's easy to cook, rice and main dish of meat or fish, daily Filipino fare.

Imagine my surprise when I weighed today to find I now weigh 136 lbs. I've lost 8 pounds since March. Here is my weight tracker at Belletoday.

What I've been doing that worked for me:

M-W-F : Running around the basketball court at lunch time 40 times broken up in 10s. 10 runs then 2 walks then 10 runs again until I reach 40 runs.

Weight training: 3 sets of 20 reps with dumbbells three times a week on alternate days

Standing Tricep Extenstion, 2-Arm Tricep Kickback, Lateral raise with external rotation, bench dips, Lunges, Arm curls and Plank. It's not much but I don't want to overload myself.

Hopefully I reach my goal by the end of the year.

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A Day Away from the Office

My division had its annual team building last Friday. Last year we only had it at the office. But this year, we heard other divisions had it outside the office. What are we the budget division for? We had ours at Sofitel in Roxas Boulevard. I wasn't too enthusiastic at first. From previous experience, there are times that it can be boring.

It turned out to be very enjoyable and helpful as well. Our division had a lot of issues since our new head joined last year. The exercise really helped us understand him and each other more.

A group activity where we were asked to modify and enhance an ordinary, everyday appliance. We were assigned the vacuum cleaner.

Our finished product was a vacuum cleaner that was rechargeable and energy efficient which had other functions such as clothes steamer, air ionizer, rechargeable light, a broom, a radio, timer, and many other features that will clean anything and everything. Presenting the Dream Cleaner!

We all had lunch in a private function room. Our division is very small accommodated everyone in two tables.

We had a salmon entreé that I thought was very small. I was wrong. It looked small but it was very filling and I actually couldn't finish my mashed potato, I was so full. I didn't eat the chocolate cake dessert anymore. Just the dark chocolate decoration.

I didn't realize how much butter I consumed. The bread was so good and my seatmates passed me all their butter.

We had an outdoor activity later in the afternoon. It was a race from one point to another. Supposedly crossing the sea to get to an island. In this case, from one tree to another. There were 8 in a group and, using only 5 pieces of mats, we were to cross the grass to get to the tree without touching the grass. Needless to say, it was a very intimate competition and a lotta fun. The facilitator later told us that a company with whom she did this activity took 2 hours to finish it. Apparently, the women did not like their male officemates touching them which was impossible to do here. She said our group completed it the fastest - 7 minutes.

At the end of the day having fun by the bay......

Finishing with a buffet dinner....

I must say the service is Sofitel is world class. After our outdoor activity, one officemate passed out. Their emergency people came immediately with a wheel chair and stretcher! And everyone was very accommodating.

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Philippine Presidential Elections

I went to vote just before 9AM. Last time I voted was in the last presidential elections. I'm lucky my name was not removed from the list. Those who did not vote in the 2007 senatorial elections were supposed to have been removed.

Since we would not be having our lunchtime jog, I decided to jog to the voting precinct. I didn't realize how near it was. It only took me 7 minutes. All in all, I had only 15 minutes cardio yesterday. I need to do more tomorrow.

There was a long line outside the school when I got there but it was fast moving. The guard went down the line to tell senior citizens that they did not have to fall in line. They can go inside directly.

Inside, seats were provided in line but nobody sat down because the line kept on moving.

When I was nearing the stairs to go up the rooms where voting would take place, people were crowded around a board to look up their precinct number. Then somebody said if you knew your precinct number you can go on up. 

If only somebody said it sooner! So I went up and we were shepherded into an airconditioned "holding room" to get instructions on how to vote. This was only to regulate the crowd. If the voting precinct is not full, then you would not need to stay in the holding room.

I sat in the holding room awhile just to cool down as I was sweating hard from my jog and the heat outside.

Anyway, it took me about an hour in total to complete the process. I would say it all went smoothly. It's looking like Noynoy Aquino will be the next Philippine president.

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Sambal Ikan Bilis

Ingredients:

About 2 cups Ikan Bilis (dried achovies)

10 pieces chili

10 pieces shallots

2 pieces tomatoes

Brown Sugar to taste

Olive oil

Mash or grind chillis, shallots, and tomatoes into a paste. Set aside.

Heat about 2 tablespoon olive oil and fry ikan bilis until golden brown and crispy. Drain oil and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil and fry spice paste (chilli, shallots, and tomatoes) for about 2 minutes then add ikan bilis to the mixture. Mix well and add brown sugar to taste.

Serve with steamed rice.

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The New Bureau of Immigration Building

Two years ago when I went with P to renew his visa at the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros, this building was being renovated. The office where foreigners went to extend their Philippine visa and other matters was in a small cramped office with makeshift counters made of wood. It was crowded and hot and unsystematic. We had to go back and forth between 2 buildings .

It's now a whole lot better. The renovated office is spacious and airconditioned. They had fliers listing procedures for the various services needed by foreigners from student visa, renewal of ACR, visa extension, etc. The fliers even indicated the estimated time each step would take.

We finished everything before lunchtime except for the release of P's passport. We decided to have lunch as it would be another 40 minute wait. I used to work in PNB, Escolta and one of my favorite places to eat was at the Bacolod Chicken House in Intramuros. This is the original chicken bacolod and none of the chicken inasal restaurants that came later can compare to the taste. Because we were so hungry, I forgot to take pictures of the food. All I have are pictures of our empty plates. Each of us had 2 orders of paa (leg part) and garlic rice and adobong kangkong. Soooo happy!

It was overcast when we stepped out of Bacolod Chicken House, so we took a leisurely walk back to the immigration building. This is King Felipe of Spain from whose name Philippines was named.

I don't know what these ruins used to be but it dates back to time the Philippines was a colony of Spain.

When we got P's passport we decided to take the Pasig River Ferry back. So we walked along Jones Bridge towards Escolta Street where there is a Ferry Terminal. This statue was a gift from the Government of Singapore.

Jones Bridge, Manila...

A view of Pasig river from Jones Bridge....

At the bottom of Jones bridge is the entrance to Chinatown (Binondo)....

The Pasig River Ferry Terminal in Escolta....

We were tired when we got home but happy that mission was accomplished.

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