Posts from — May 2008

Awarded to Roselle

For putting up a very good blog - content and design wise.

By Christine

Now there are some rules, I need to pick five other blogs to get this award..

For those of you receiving the Award, here are the rules:

1) You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award for their creativity, design, interesting material, and also for contributing to the blogging community, no matter what language.

2) Each award has to have the name of the author and also a link to his or her blog to be visited by everyone.

3) Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given her or him the award itself.

4) Award-winner and the one who has given the prize have to show the link of “Arte y Pico” blog, so everyone will know the origin of this award.

http://arteypico.blogspot.com/

Make sure you visit the link above.

I am giving this award to April and Justine

Candles at worship (Mga kandila sa pagsamba)

Other than being a symbol of light, a candle also brings the idea of fire… of heat. It is frequently used in worship as a symbol of the light God brings to our life. It also symbolizes the burning desire to worship and offer our life to the Lord.

Bukod sa pagiging simbulo ng liwanag, ang kandila ay nagdadala ng ideya ng apoy… ng init. Madalas itong gamitin sa pagsamba bilang tanda ng liwanag na dala ng Diyos sa ating buhay. Ito rin ay sumisimbulo sa umaapoy na naisin na sumamba at ialay ang buhay sa Panginoon.

Last Sunday, Mother’s Day was celebrated in different places around the globe. That didn’t stop me from feeling special. My two kids have been attempting to organize a ’surprise’ by having subtle (but nonetheless obvious) conferences with their dad for the past couple of weeks. They’re too excited that they couldn’t well keep their secret.

I seem to always know (reflexes?) that they’re up to something. Maybe not in detail, but I just know something is going on. While anticipated, whatever they’re cooking certainly is still a surprise. Actually, I find it already rewarding to see them get busy in their preparations.

Anyway, here is what I got: a candle, three hand-drawn fridge magnets, and a felt bag which also served as the ‘packaging’. I think the best gift, though, was to see the joy in RD’s and CN’s eyes as they gave me these presents.

And I’ve got flowers, too!

Thank you Christine for giving me my very first blog AWARD…yahooooo!

 So, I pass this award to my top 5 commenters:  Ritchiela, Rachel, JoyD, Justine and Leng . Thanks guys!

Mother’s Day flowers from my kids

It was Sunday last week, when we’ve heard a very sad news that ‘Lolo’ (grandfather) died of cancer. He is our friend’s father, and became a father figure for us here. It was the first time we attended a funeral in Australia. Unlike the typical Filipino wake or ‘lamay’ which goes on for a few days/nights, wake in Australiais typically just for one day and that is it…the final viewing. Lolo’s final viewing was Wednesday night and then burial was scheduled Friday morning.

To those who are left behind by lolo, accept our deepest sympathy and condolences. Our prayer is that the Lord’s loving comfort will embrace you during this time of grieving.

The following day, Saturday, is a day to celebrate. A friend who is turning 50 years old was given a surprise birthday party by her husband. As expected, husband ordered heaps of food but visitors also brought their share as well. Can you imagine that!? That only means we really had a great feast. Yummy! Some girlfriends prepared a very entertaining hula dance number. The men, led by her husband serenade her with a song while her children and friends gave her flowers, and these gestures made her cry. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

My RD’s interest is into cooking and baking lately. Whenever she’s home she would watch me cook or bake. Sometimes, I allow her to do it herself, but of course… my mother reflexes dictate that I should be there to supervise. Presenting to you now is my daughter’s baked cup cakes. She did everything on her own (except the oven part). Trying to follow carefully what is in the baking instructions, she managed to come up with a very good and tasty result.

Well done RD!

Recipe taken from super food ideas, Australia’s no.1 food magazine

125g unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup caster sugar

3 eggs

1/3 cup milk

1 1/2 cup self-raising flour

2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

80g dark choc melts (opitonal for me)

pink sprinkles, to serve (optional for me)

1. Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan forced. Line a 12 hole, 1/3 cup-capacity muffin pan with paper cases.

2. Place butter, vanilla, sugar, eggs, milk and flour in a bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat on low speed to high. Beat for 2 to 3 minutes or until pale.

3. Spoon 1 1/2 tablespoons of mixture into each muffin hole. Add cocoa to ramaining mixture. Stir to combine. Spoon cocoa mixture into muffin holes. Using a skewer, swirl mixtures together. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre of 1 cake comes out clean. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out on to a wire rack to cool.

4. (Optional for me) Place choc melts in a microwave-safe bowl. Mircowave on HIGH (100%) for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring every minute with a metal spoon, or until smooth. Spoon 2 teaspoons of chocolate on each cake. Top with sprinkles. Stand at room temperature until set. Serve.

View my other recipes here

This photo was taken with my point-and-shoot camera when we visited Koala Park in Sydney. This is a mother kangaroo. You’ll probably notice that it has a big tummy. About 5 seconds before I took this shot, a baby kangaroo (also called ‘joey’) jumped into her mother’s pouch. It’s a pity the photo didn’t show the head of the baby kangaroo just like in the cartoons (which resembles a child riding a car). It seems that it isn’t like that in real life… the entire head and body of the baby is well inside the pouch. If you can only see the baby kangaroo, it is quite big… a hint that it is heavy to carry. However, it seems that the mother doesn’t mind the difficulty… maybe because of its natural love to her children.

Ang larawang ito ay kuha sa aking ‘point-and-shoot’ na kamera noong kami’y mamasyal sa ‘Koala Park’ dito sa Sydney. Ito ay isang inang kangaroo. Mapapansin siguro ninyo ang laki ng tiyan nito. Mga limang segundo bago ko makuha ang litratong ito, isang batang kangaroo (o tawag nila ay ‘joey’) ang lumundag papasok sa bulsa ng kanyang ina. Sayang at wala sa larawan ang nakalabas ang ulo ng batang kangaroo gaya ng mga nasa ‘cartoons’ (na wari mo’y batang naksakay sa kotse). Pero mukhang talagang hindi ganun sa totoong buhay… talagang subsob ang buong ulo at katawan ng bata sa bulsa. Kung makikita ninyo ang paslit na kangaroo, may kalakihan ito… tanda na marahil ay mabigat ito para dalhin. Ngunit mukhang di alintana ng ina ang hirap… marahil dahil sa likas nitong pagmamahal sa kanyang mga anak.

While it’s still one month to go before winter becomes official, the temperature has already dropped, hinting that it’s going to be a really cold season up ahead.  Last Saturday, we decided to snuggle up inside the house, take things slowly and just enjoy the weekend. Needless to say, we were at home most of the day (yes, we’re home buddies!).

In the afternoon, we all went to the backyard for the kids to play. As the kids were playing, I happened to notice that the mandarin tree is ready for harvest! It was such an interesting activity as it is one of those that not everybody would have a chance to do. So I got the kids to grab their baskets (from Easter) so we can start this family ‘chore’. Together, my husband and I started picking the mandarins while RD attempts to catch those which fall off the tree (we had to use sticks to pull the mandarins from really high branches). Of course, CN had her share by picking up anything which her sister didn’t catch. It was a fulfilling activity especially when we realized that we were able to fill two baskets.

This is our second ‘harvest’ for the year (the first one was a row of ‘buchoy’).

RD and CN sorting the mandarins

Next challenge: Eating over 50 mandarins

9. You’re next here…

Tagging Christine, Dette and Nina

Here are the rules:

Post a photo of your baby with her first ever favorite/comfort toy. Write some details of your fondest memory of your baby and her toy (like what I did below). This will make a good memento when your baby grows up!

Lastly, before you pass this on to six mommies, don’t forget to add the link to your website/s at the end of the page. I’m sure many moms would love to see your sites, too!

RD’s 1st Birthday

CN’s 1st Birthday

Obviously Tweety and Spongebob are their first favourites. Maybe because of the bright colour. But kids as they are, they surely love to play with their other toys like Elmo, Ernie, Barney and their Barbie Dolls.

Love links:

Amelie’s mom, Daehan Shine mom, RD and CN’s mom, Your site here

I was tagged by Christine. Now, I am tagging Richiela, Annz, Darlene, Leah, Era and Saves.

“Make new friends but keep the old…one is silver and the other is gold”

One sad part of moving to one place to another (in our case, a country to another) is leaving friends behind. Good thing that internet was created. My daughter had a chance to chat with an old friend, her very close friend from the Philippines…now living in Thailand. They could still continue being friends by keeping in touch.  
 

Moving to a new place means meeting new people… gaining new friends.

Thanks Era for the tag. Q&A time :) 

What time do you usually wake up?
7:20 AM

What’s the first thing you do?
Turn off the alarm clock

Breakfast?
coffee or hot choc/fried rice with bacon and egg/pancakes/cereals

Do you go to work/school?
SAHM

Do you like it?
very much

If you stay at home, what do you do all day?
daily house chores, play with my daugther, blog, watch TV, gardening and a lot more

When’s lunch and what you eating?
i eat between 12NN and 2PM. yesterday’s leftovers

What time do you get home from work/school?

What do you do?
SAHM

Dinner: When and what?
between 7 - 8PM

What do you do to unwind?
go out

What’s your favorite part of the day?
night time

Who’s your favorite person to interact with?
CR

When’s bedtime?
for me it’s between 11PM and 2AM

Who’s bedtime with?
CR and CN

I’m tagging Christine, Annz, and Sheen

My daughter RD happened to establish contact (via Yahoo! Messenger) with an old friend, FL, who is overseas.  I believe they both had a great time catching up.  It is amazing how kids today are able to harness technology to continue friendships which are threatened by the relocating families.

But as I was thinking about that ‘catching up session’, another topic tickled my thoughts. I just thought that most of my daughter, including most of her friends have two first-names. So I have RD, her friend FL in Thai, DJ in Sydney and others.

So just to continue figuring out this ‘phenomenon’ of two first-names, I decided to put up this quick poll. Hopefully if we have several responses, we can get an idea whether it is a generation trend. Using the buttons below, select the item which is most applicable.

There are varying definitions of the generations, but we’ll use this one

• Baby Boomers - Born 1946-1964
• Generation X - Born 1965-1979
• Generation Y - Born 1980-1994
• Generation Z - Born 1995-2009  

You may vote more than once… one for you, your spouse, and children. Note that you can only make one vote per day.

Thanks for the tag Christine . My top 5 to-do-list.

#1 in my list…to clean, sort and organize some things in the house (so i can have more space for #2)

#2 in my list…to fold and iron clothes (then i can start #3)

#3 in my list …to do some gardening at the front and backyard (then i can concentrate and enjoy my time for  #4)

#4 in my list…to start helping my daughter prepare for her coming exams/tests ( after all this responsibilities as a mother, i  should not forget #5)

#5 in my list…call my mother and mother in law and greet them happy mother’s day

And now, I’m tagging Jolana and Julia.