KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 50 – PASTILLAS, CRISPY PATA AND TURBO CHICKEN

It’s Chinese New year tomorrow which is why it’s a holiday for us also. I guess the Chinese went up in arms when P-Noy declared two Muslim holidays last year and so to appease them (I guess???) P-Noy decided to declare their New year celebration also a holiday. Well, that’s good for us since we’d be having more days off! Anyway we’re not really Chinese and we don’t really believe in all that feng shui but hey it doesn’t hurt to follow some of their beliefs eh? Like yesterday, my daughter and I figured it was about time for a haircut and so we went off and got a haircut on the eve of their new year because they say cutting off the hair also removes some of the bad luck we may have accumulated the past year. And then, we didn’t really have a sort of feast prepared for the night but I decided to just cook good food for our dinner tonight.

In the afternoon, the kids and I had fun doing pastillas from a recipe I have had a long time ago which is why I can’t remember where I got it??? All I know is that it needed a cup of condensed milk for every cup of powdered milk. But we didn’t have a cup of powdered milk and so we had to just make do with half of everything. We followed the no-cook version and just mixed everything slowly and during the last stages of mixing, it became quite difficult to stir the mixture. We left it inside the ref for a while and watched TV to let the mix harden a bit more. But, of course, kids being kids they couldn’t wait for very long and so Kaye took it out and began to form it into logs even if it was still quite a bit soft( I am not sure if it was because we needed to refrigerate it longer or maybe add a little more powdered milk but since we didn’t have the latter and my daughter lacked any more patience to wait, we decided to just do as she wishes.

As it is, the pastillas did not look so good even after my daughter dredged it in sugar but boy oh boy did it taste oh so good, almost like the pastillas that we are so fond of eating but find difficulty buying not just because it is difficult to find but because of its steep price. Now that we have discovered this, we now can easily do it at home…hurrah!





Then, for dinner I decided to cook turbo chicken using the Bounty Fresh Honey Lemon marinated chicken. But since the turbo is quite big and just cooking the single chicken would be quite extravagant/expensive I decided to also cook at the same time a bit of crispy pata to which I just added some salt and pepper a few minutes before it is placed inside the turbo broiler. I cooked both the chicken and the pata for a little more than an hour and we all had a hearty dinner at around 8. They said the chicken was a bit bland. I guess the sweet and spicy is truly their best seller for a reason eh? So now I know I won’t be getting any of their brands anymore. From now on I’d just stick to marinating my own. Then the crispy pata was a bit of a revelation - true the pata skin was quite crispy outside but they say the meat inside was a bit overcooked and dry. I guess, I’ll just turn it into paksiw na pata tomorrow to make it a bit juicier.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 49 - GARLIC CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS

Today, for the kids baon I borrowed a recipe from Dennis’ Lutong Bahay blog which he titled Garlic chicken with mushrooms. I marinated the chicken last night in just salt and pepper. Then when I awoke today, I fried some garlic in oil, and then reserved it for later. After that, I melted some butter and fried the chicken till it was just cooked through. After that, I placed the mushroom and the water in the mushrooms and let the dish boil for about 15 minutes. At first, I thought the dish looked dull and colorless and even lacked a bit of salt and so I added more salt. But there was still something lacking – some kind of zing to the dish. Until finally, when it was cooked and I garnished it with the roasted garlic, the dish totally changed! Truly amazing what garlic can do to spice up an otherwise bland dish! Thank you Dennis for this recipe!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 48 – Pork chop steak

Nope, this is not actually a new dish but rather another comfort food of sorts - a dish that’s quite easy to make and one that I just fall back on when I fail to think up anything new to cook. Anyway, my kids love this and so this is actually an almost weekly item in our breakfast/baon menu. What’s more, I can pre-boil the dish the night before in soy sauce, calamansi, pepper, garlic and onions so that the next day, what would be left for me to do is simply fry the pork slices in oil, return the marinade/sauce that I boiled them in last night, drop the freshly sliced onion rings before turning off the fire and voila! Breakfast/baon is done!

A SURPRISE GIFT!

I know, I know it’s not yet my birthday, it will be for another three months yet. However, I got a surprise birthday gift from my dad whose birthday we are actually celebrating today!!! Hurrah! Actually, it wasn’t truly a surprise because he has been hinting at it when we chatted a few days ago on FB. He asked if I still needed a TV and I said YES GLADLY especially if it’s his LCD TV that he’s giving away. But he never replied and so I figured maybe he was just kidding??? But when we arrived at his condo today, I saw that his old 32-inch Hitachi TV in the sala is still there. So, maybe that’s not what he was going to give me. Then surprise, surprise the kids saw a box of a 32-inch Sony Bravia behind the small sofa. Well, he sure as hell won’t be giving that to me would he??? Well, I guessed as much because what was inside the box was his old 21-inch LED TV in the bedroom - which wasn’t so bad at all. In fact, it was just right for our bedroom! Because it even had a free movable TV bracket that we can turn around any which way we want and a surround speaker! Thanks a lot Pa! I hope you win more raffle items in golf (because he won the Bravia in their Class 70 Xmas party) so that you could give me more hand-me-downs!

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

This entire weekend was spent bonding with family members who celebrated their birthdays in the month of January. First off, we went to my Aunt’s place in Pasig because it was her two kids’ birthday last January 8 and 11. Their party was held on the 14th at around 4pm but it was for the kids’ classmates and so we opted to come a bit later. Anyway, we were commuting since the hubby and Ditse (with son Mac, of course) went home after breakfast. We opted to stay behind and get a bit of studying done before leaving for Pasig at around 3pm. My brother called as we were traveling on a bus and wanted that I pick up his kids. But I can’t do so as I was on a bus with my two kids already.

There was much traffic which made Mike unable to pick us up at the market so we just rode the trike to get there. We arrived at their house at around 6pm and surprisingly there were just a few people milling about. The kids’ classmates have left and only about five kids remained. Auntie Chuchay, Tito Alex and Xuey have arrived but the host of the party was nowhere to be seen. It seems she’s still sleeping upstairs and then took a bath upon waking. It was past 7 pm when she went down and by then, Papa and Tita Espie have already arrived and I fed Kit and Kaye some spaghetti, hotdogs and fried chicken which were served earlier during the children’s party.

After a while, we ate dinner and I felt so full with all the delicious food that Ace has prepared for us - the best was the Bon Chon chicken style chicken that seemed fried with breading then cooked in a sauce that had hoisin and oyster sauce (I think!) I was too excited to eat to take some decent photos …sorry! After eating, the kids took a dip in the pool and by then, Papa was asking me if we could pick up Sam and Chi for Papa’s birthday tomorrow. Anyway, we’ll be coming from Pasig and they think it was a bit near. Well I am not sure if the hubby would agree to that so I told them he would just pick them up tonight after he gets back from Pampanga. I even called the kids’ grandmother to ask permission to get them at such late hour and thankfully she agreed.

It was around 12 midnight when the hubby arrived with only Chi because Sam didn’t want to come and just wanted to sleep. We fed them some leftover dinner first of the remaining pata (it wasn’t crispy but pata tim hehehe) but the bon chon chicken was already gone! But there were still some salad and pasta left over. Well, there were many people in the house (they had a guest from Norway, I believe, Mike’s boss at the farm). We slept in the loft at the children’s room with Kaye. Chi slept by herself on the double deck (coz I was afraid Kaye might fall off) while Nicole and Kevin slept on their big bed with the remaining friend who stayed for the night. Kit, Ace and Mike slept on the sofas downstairs. Before we slept, the hubby and I got to talking and agreed we both liked the design of the loft in the kids’ bedroom so I guess we’d be copying it in the new house we’re planning to build at BP within the year (hopefully!) Well, here are some of the pics that I was able to take…boohoo! No food pics!












PAPA’S BIRTHDAY

The next day, after rummaging around for some breakfast (since the host left us last night to attend a party) and after taking our baths, we left for Papa’s condo in Makati for his birthday party celebration. We took Auntie Jingay’s kids with us since she and Mike would follow us to the condo a bit later (well, he needs to attend to his guest but I think he won’t be able to bring him to Papa’s party because Papa was strict against bringing in strangers since his place is just quite small). The kids took their time getting ready so it was already around 11 when we arrived at the condo but unsurprisingly we were still the first ones there.

We ate some snacks (some nuts, chocolates, candies and other junk food) while waiting for the others to arrive. Then, in a while the food arrived (courtesy of Ate Marisa’s catering) then the lechon arrived too (brought by Dian from Fort Boni) and we finally ate and good thing I was able to get some decent food pics this time hehehe!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURES 47: Disastrous corn maja

I know, I know I have made this dessert countless times before which is why I just don’t understand at all what I did wrong again this time. If you look at the picture on the left closely, the maja seems a bit watery, and indeed it was! I thought it was just like that at first and would later on harden as it stays longer in the ref but lo and behold even if I let it stay in the fridge overnight it still won’t harden!!! Maybe it’s in the milk I added to make up for the coconut milk that I lacked. I doubled the ingredients this time since every time I make this, I always make too little with just a half-inch of maja made. And so I tried to double the recipe but the results turned out disastrous. To fix it, I decided to reheat the entire thing and added more cornstarch and also some gelatin just so it would harden and be solid enough to eat. Well, it still tasted good even if it did not look so good. At the right is a picture of the ‘fixed’ maja. It looked fine at the outside (I used green gelatin, well, it’s the only one I have left) but actually it was still a bit soft and gooey, and a bit too sweet! So next time I guess I’d stay away from using any kind of milk and just stick to coconut milk.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 46: Beef Steak - my comfort food

For this morning, I decided to cook for my kids an all-time favorite of mine, one that I may consider a comfort food of sorts since it brings back memories of a warm kitchen and the smell of simmering beef wafting gently in the air. I know, it is also a favorite of my kids but I haven’t been able to buy as much beef as I want because well, you know, the cost and all plus the fact that you have to cook it a bit longer than pork to achieve that tenderness that just melts in your mouth. And so I pre-boiled the beef in soy sauce, calamansi, pepper and onions the night before. I also added some water so that the beef will become tender. Then, this morning I fried the beef in a bit of oil and let it boil in its sauce with some water to soften it just a wee bit more before adding onion rings just before I turned off the fire.

Then, for my lunch I also made a salad to go with the beef steak. I felt that in order for my diet to really work, I need a non-fattening dressing like vinaigrette and so I searched the net for white wine vinaigrette and found the following recipe:
1/3 c olive oil
1/3 c white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp white sugar
½ tsp salt
a pinch of black pepper

A friend gave me white wine vinegar as a gift last Christmas and so I decided to put it to good use with this salad, problem was when I was making the dressing I mistook the sugar for the salt so when I wanted to add more sugar (because the dressing turned out too sour for my taste) I ended up adding more salt than I would’ve wanted, oh dear. So I made up for it by adding more olive oil and sugar. Well, at least the dressing still came out fine. Next time, I should remember to lessen the vinegar a bit and add more sugar or even honey to balance the sourness.


P.S. Sorry I forgot to take pics of my kitchen misadventures today, maybe next time when I have done it right.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 45: BBQ SPARERIBS WITH HOISIN SAUCE

For the kids’ lunchbox today, I made a recipe that I got from Dennis’ Lutong Bahay blog though I made a few adjustments. First, I boiled the pork spareribs in bbq marinade, salt and pepper, garlic and a little sugar. Then, when the meat is already tender, I fried the meat in a little oil in a non-stick pan, returned the marinade to the pan and added hoisin sauce just before turning the heat off. Dennis’ recipe called for cooking the spare ribs in a turbo broiler but I decided to just fry it, adobo style and I’m glad the end result was still great - another flavorful but fuss-free meal for my kids’ baon!

Book review: FOR ONE MORE DAY by Mitch Albom

This is my first book for the year which I was able to download today thru the internet. Last December, I bought a copy of this book as a gift for a friend and though I wanted one badly for myself, I restrained myself and figured I would just get an ebook not just to save up on expenses but also on space because I don’t have anymore space on my shelf. And so today, I was finally able to download an e-book and I placed it in my Samsung Corby phone so that whenever I have available free time I can start reading. I will update you on the book’s story as I go along.

But first let me tell you why this is the book I chose to read. Actually I have long been a fan of Mitch Albom, ever since I have read his book – The Five People You Meet in Heaven. It’s a very good book which I was able to read in just one sitting. I know I haven’t been able to make a review/post about it in this blog, but maybe someday when I reread it, I will. And so ever since, I have been on the lookout for more books by Mitch Albom and this one title caught my attention since last year because it was touted as a good book to give for moms on Mother’s Day and so it tickled my interest, eventually I found out why.

The story is actually about a ghost and how a son was given the chance to spend one more day with his mother who was then already dead. It tells the story of Chuck Benetto who grew up idolizing his father who just went off and left them. As an adult, he begins to realize the many times he has taken his mom for granted though she has stood up for him many times in the past. Then he makes one final mistake when he (once again) chose his long-absentee father only to return home and find his own mother dead. And so, he ends up a broken man, with a myriad of problems in his career, family life, languishing in alcohol and regrets.

He finally decides to take his own life and on that fateful day, he takes a midnight drive back to his hometown but upon entering their old house, he finds his mother there (eight years dead), puttering about in the kitchen as if nothing has changed. He then spends the entire day with his mother and he gains valuable insights into their relationship which he failed to see before and others which his loving mother shielded him from ever knowing so as to keep his youthful view of his life and family intact. He learns how his mother worked hard (despite the downsides of their society to a divorcee) to put both him and his sister through college, how she patiently stood by him even if she disagreed with his decision to stop studying college and embark on a baseball career (because it was what his father wanted).

He was also able to admit to her the reasons for his absence during the last birthday she spent before she died. How he lied to her about a client meet-up when actually it was for another ‘baseball game’ for oldies that his father set-up for him so that he could once again get his foot back inside the ‘big leagues’ so to speak. But in the end he failed to do what his father wanted – return to baseball (even as a coach or a trainer) because he realized it wasn’t really his dream to live, but his father’s. And in the course of wanting his father to return his love, he desperately tried to live a life that wasn’t meant for him…

Chuck regretted not being there when his mother died for the rest of his life and he was finally given one more day to be with her. His mother also made him realize many more previously unknown factors from his childhood – including the reason why his father suddenly left them. It turned out that he had another family, a previous wife he married during the war when he thought he wouldn’t make it out alive which is why his mother decided to cut the ties between them - for good. And with that one fateful day, he was given the chance to understand everything about his seemingly failed relationships. But most of all, that one day gave him the chance to resolve issues in his family and get his life back on track.

In the end, Chuck was revived by a police officer at the scene of the accident and his experience with his mother at their house seemed just like a dream to him. But what matters was that it inspired him to quit drinking, reconcile with his family, and do things he may have failed to do. It’s a very inspiring story, a bit like the fatalistic movie, If Only, but with a different twist. The two stories main underlying message is how one should cherish the time spent with loved ones because you may never get a chance to show the person how much he or she means to you. In If Only, the story revolved around lovers Sam and Ian and how they spent one perfectly enchanted day before the other one dies. This time though the story revolved around a mother and how she shows that even through death, her love for him remains eternal.

P.S. I was not really able to read the ebook on my phone as I had originally planned because the fonts were a bit small and it was difficult to navigate the book using the Corby and so when I was able to buy the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 Plus, I immediately installed the e-book and was able to finish reading the book one weekend we were at BP (Jan 28-29). It was that good, you just can’t put it down without finishing the entire story.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 44: TURBO CHICKEN IN LEMON AND PEPPER MARINADE

Here’s another easy dish because I cheated a little and used a ready-to-use marinade from McCormick, particularly the Lemon and Pepper Marinade. So all I really did when I bought the chicken thighs yesterday morning was marinate them in the mixture, let the chicken stay in the fridge overnight so that the next day when I pop them in the turbo oven all the flavors would be incorporated. But sad to say even if I marinated the chicken overnight the flavors still did not penetrate past the skin. In fact, only the chicken skin was a bit salty and sour and the flesh still quite juicy but tasted bland. Well, next time maybe I guess I needed to make some grooves or cuts in the chicken so that the marinade can penetrate. Anyway, here are pics of the cooked chicken.

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 43 - GRILLED TUNA PANGA

For our lunch today, the hubby decided to cook the tuna panga that an officemate bought for me yesterday at Farmers market. It was the same thing we cooked last Christmas eve and I guess the hubby was a bit bitin then because there were so many people and he could only eat a bit of it which is probably why he requested me to buy again (if ever we are able to go to Farmers) and thankfully when my officemate left yesterday to do some errands in Cubao she willingly passed by Farmers to buy some fish.

It was an easy and simple recipe that he did. A few minutes before grilling the fish, he marinated the tuna in a little garlic, soy sauce, calamansi, and salt. Then he placed it over the grill and after like 30 minutes, the fish is done! He was careful not to overcook it lest the fish meat come out dry and tough. Instead, what he served for lunch was just right – very juicy and tasty tuna… just yummy!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURES SERIES 42 - CHICKEN AND POTATOES IN LEMON CREAM SAUCE

Here’s another chicken dish for my kids’ lunchboxes which I got from CASA VENERACION. (As always just get the exact recipe from her site) I was able to buy some chicken fillets at the grocery yesterday and so I decided to cook it for their baon today. The recipe was quite easy and fits exactly with what I needed to cook - nothing too time consuming since I need to be quick. I started by frying the potatoes in butter then when the edges were a bit browned I added the chicken fillet. After a few minutes, I dropped the onions and when cooked I added a bit of water (since I didn’t have some chicken broth). When the mixture boiled, I lowered the heat and let it simmer for about twenty minutes. When the chicken and potatoes were cooked, I added the lemon – cream mixture. Again, I didn’t have any lemon so I substituted 7 pcs. calamansi but it turned out a bit sour so I’ll need to remember to put less calamansi next time. I also added more salt without tasting it first so the dish became a bit salty just a bit though coz it doesn’t seem to be salty anymore when eaten with hot rice. Then, after ten minutes of letting it simmer uncovered, the dish is done!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 41: BRAISED CHICKEN

Here’s my first kitchen misadventure installment for the year – Braised Chicken for the kids’ lunchboxes. I got the recipe from Connie Veneracion’s blog (CASA VENERACION) so if you want the recipe just check out her site. I marinated the chicken the night before so the flavors would all be incorporated into the chicken the next day. I only substituted calamansi juice for the lemon since it’s quite difficult to get that here in our place. Then, in the morning I just boiled the chicken in its own marinade, added a bit of water and let it simmer slowly until the chicken was cooked. After about 30 minutes, I added the hoisin sauce and voila – another easy and delicious dish from Connie! My kids loved it and said it tasted a bit like chicken tocino - imagine that!?! Now I can give them all the chicken tocino they want without the unnecessary preservatives!!! Hurrah! Hurrah!

HOPEFULLY A HAPPIER 2012!

Okay, okay so I promised myself not to make a regular list of resolutions for 2012 pretty much like the way I did last year since I would be turning 40 then and I’d want to take each day as it comes and not be hounded by a list I would find hard to complete. So let me track back a bit and see what I was able to accomplish last year??? Well, so far judging by the entries of this blog I have been able to do 20+ Kitchen misadventure articles, around 15 movie reviews, only 1 book review, about 5 articles only that dealt on travel and places (which meant I did not get to travel as much as I wanted this year, and no air travel pa!)

What’s more, there was a noticeable increase of entries that pertains to health – i.e. starting to jog again, joining a fun run, kidney stone screening, bone scanning, having an APE. Well, I guess that is understandable and comes with aging! Then, it was only during the latter part of the year (because of the bonuses!) that we were able to buy some gadgets and techy stuff like the 32-inch LCD TV and Kit’s Samsung Galaxy Y phone (where we bought 2 because he lost the first one after only two weeks!) There was also a proliferation of entries regarding our new diversions / pets – the bunnies that gave birth to a total of three sets of kits for the entire year! Imagine that if we were able to sell the said kits, we would’ve been able to recover most of our investments but as it is we only gave the bunnies away as presents. Well, that’s OK they were given to relatives and friends anyway.

So I guess, what do I need to do this upcoming 2012??? I guess I need to do more traveling – one aspect I have sincerely neglected in the last year. Our travels last year were mostly due to office outings – at Bolinao, Pangasinan, FAS outing @ Calatagan, Batangas and Tagaytay, CMS outing @ Bataan and lastly our family outing during the Holy Week at Taal, Batangas – all within Luzon and can be traveled within two to three hours by car. What’s more, we have not traveled as a family since 2010, (our last was at Bohol with Myk and Inang) and so I guess I truly need to save up some money this year so we could do some traveling and our first destination – Baguio or even Sagada!

Next, though I was able to be more adventurous last year with the more than 20 dishes I whipped up for the kids baon, I admit I tended to shy away from baking and making desserts. So this year I guess I need to make more desserts and start baking again. I also hope to watch more films and read more books! Lastly, though I don’t really believe that 2012 will truly herald the end of the world, I still intend to establish a stronger relationship with my God! And also I want to do a Bucket List of things I want to accomplish before the world ends. So here’s good luck to me and hopefully the year 2012 shall be a happier one for all of us!!!

BP CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION

At this year’s Christmas celebration, we had a special guest in the person of Inang’s sister, Lola Bebe. She had been sick for quite some time already and had been visiting her sister quite often lately and expressed happiness at the thought of spending Christmas here with us and so on the day of Christmas eve, she came to our place early and busied herself just looking at the preparations and the kids dancing. We had our usual simple fare of spaghetti, grilled hotdogs, fried chicken, fruit salad, biko, potato salad, ham n cheese cordon bleu, choco fountain and a newbie – grilled tuna panga. Well, once again despite the small space everyone that mattered was present. Everyone had fun and enjoyed a noisy but still blessed Christmas!

FRIENDS WITH BENEFITS - Movie review

The movie starts with Justin Timberlake (Dylan) presiding over a creative meeting with his staff then he runs off to meet with his ‘supposed girlfriend’ who initially I thought was Mila Kunis (Jamie) since she was the one talking on the phone but apparently the two are with different partners – Justin with Emma Stone and Mila with a guy I don’t really recognize. Both of them got dumped by their partners on that same night and so they both decided against having any future complicated relationships.

Jamie meets Dylan, for the first time when she picks him up at the airport. She apparently works for a recruitment agency and is hoping to convince Dylan to work for GQ magazine. Dylan is hesitant at first since he does not want to uproot his entire life in L.A. for a new job. So Jamie takes Dylan on a fun night tour of the city to convince him to move to New York which includes having drink in a bar, going street dancing (with a flash mob) and gazing at the stars and New York’s beautiful skyline from the top of a building.

Dylan finally agrees to take the job and at his first day at the GQ office, he meets Woody Harrelson (Tommy), the sports editor who thought he was gay. Jamie arrives at his office and presents him with the contract which he must honor for a year otherwise she will not get a bonus. Since she is his only friend in New York, he has lunch with her and while eating discover that they have both been emotionally damaged and vowed to shun having complicated relationships altogether. Jamie invites Dylan to a party at her place so she can introduce her around to different people. They hang out a few more times together until one night while watching a romantic comedy they started talking about sex and relationships. They end up deciding that they can have sex without any strings/emotions attached.

The next day, Jamie visits Dylan at the office and both of them decide that last night was a mistake and they should both stay as friends but that same afternoon they ended up having sex again and many more times after that. After awhile, Jamie realizes that she wants to start dating and they decide to stop having casual sex. They take a walk at a park and they take turns getting to know other people and she ends up meeting Parker and they start dating while the woman Dylan approached ended up going off to meet with her husband.

Jamie continues to date Parker and on the fifth date, they go to bed. Dylan meanwhile accepts Tommy’s invitation to go to a bar and hooks up with some lady who was too forward/aggressive for his taste. Jamie, meanwhile, separated with new guy Parker who tried to sneak out on her after the fifth date, saying he was not meant to be her Prince Charming. Dylan helped her get over the pain of being dumped by Parker and gifted her with a street art painting that she totally loved. Then, when she got home she found that her mom bailed out on their supposed weekend trip so Dylan invited her to go to LA with him to visit with his family for the 4th of July holidays.

They fly to California where she meets Dylan’s older sister, Annie, nephew Sammy and his dad who now has Alzheimer’s. Dylan’s family had a pretty house on the beach and that night while the two hang out together talking about Dylan’s childhood they get emotionally close and spend the night together. Jamie sees how difficult it was for Dylan to see his dad getting worse with Alzheimer’s. Then, when he takes her up to the mountain to have a close look at the famous Hollywood sign, she asks him why he never talked about this mom leaving. Dylan says he doesn’t want people to pity him and Jamie tells him that what he needs to do is to act towards his dad like nothing has changed. But Dylan refused to talk about it and so they leave it at that.

Then, Jamie overhears Annie and Dylan talking about ‘their relationship’ and Dylan quickly denies that anything is going on between them, that they are just ‘friends’ though she did see him creeping out of her room the other night. Annie tried to convince him that they are perfect for each other but to no avail. So that same night, Jamie decided to leave telling some lame excuse about work. She ignores his texts and calls, still hurting from his comments to her sister. He finally found her at the top of the building, at her ‘thinking spot’ and asks her why she had been avoiding him. She ended up telling him that she overheard their ‘talk’ and he admits he only said it to get his sister off his back. Jaime countered that she thought they were friends and that friends weren’t supposed to say those things against each other. So she doesn’t want to be his friend.

They go on with their lives until Jamie discovers that Dylan may be leaving GQ for another company which would affect her commission so she confronts him and this leads to another argument. Jamie and his mom have a talk about love and she advised her not to repeat the same mistake she did – not to run after a fairy tale Prince Charming, find someone to take on the world with. Dylan, on the other hand, meets his dad at the airport and over lunch his father thought he saw a girl he once knew. He tells her about a girl named Diddy, the love of his life that he met while at the Navy. It seems he never really got over her and maybe it was partly why his wife left him. He was too proud to tell her how he really felt, he just let her go and now he lives with that regret for the rest of his life. His dad told him that life is short and he should not waste any minute of it. Dylan finally admitted to his dad that he feels he messed up with Jaime and so his dad told him to fix it.

Dylan asks Jaime’s mother’s help to make her go to the Grand Central Station and he arranges a flash mob scene. He admits to Jaime that he missed her, he is all he thinks about, and wants them to be best friends again. He says he wants his best friend back because he is in love with her. They kiss and Dylan then suggests that they go on their first date, at a cafe across the street. The film ends with them stopping pretensions on their ‘date’ and passionately kissing inside the cafe. The movie is in fact pretty good! I like the palpable chemistry between Mila and Justin and their characters are just so relatable particularly by this generation of commitment-phobic millennials. They try their damnedest to act cool about sex when in fact they are still both romantics at heart. The movie is very funny and the acting so natural. Furthermore, even though the plot was quite predictable, it was still pretty much quite enjoyable to watch. But definitely this is not a movie I can watch with my daughter since some of the scenes were quite explicit. Maybe when she is a bit older and more mature, I would recommend that she watch this movie someday.

[photo grabbed from IMDB]

WAIVED GLOBE BILL...FINALLY!

Finally! After so many attempts/calls made, I was finally able to get my first globe bill waived. Imagine my surprise since I was expecting a bill of PhP500 for my first monthly payment and getting a humongous bill amounting to almost 2K! Because of data that I did not know I was unknowingly using! WTF!@#$%??!! But it seems I was not the only one, since I soon heard/read about some people complaining to Globe about the exact same thing – data charges suddenly shooting up their monthly bills for no reason! When I was able to talk to a Globe customer service officer, she willingly agreed to waive the data charges and advised me how to turn off the data function of my phone so that I would not anymore incur additional charges. I would just need to turn them back on whenever I need to go online...whew! Thank God for small favors like these. Next time though, Globe told me I would have to pay the bill accordingly since they have already told me how to use the phone properly and so it would be my and my fault alone if ever my data charges still remain high.

VMS SPORTSFEST

It’s my daughter's school sportsfest today and though I do not usually watch their sports competitions, I opted to watch today since it will be her first performance as a member of the drum and lyre band. Here are some of her pictures when they practiced before the actual sportsfest since I wasn’t able to get close when they actually performed.

ANOTHER NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY Y PHONE!

After eight days of letting him stew without a phone, I finally decided to go ahead and get a new plan from Globe for only 500 which had a free Samsung Galaxy Y handset. I didn't have the cash to buy him a new phone so I got him one that is offered for free, although I would have to shell out a monthly 500 at least I can use said amount for texting and calling Globe and TM subscribers in my phonebook. It was amazing that Globe was able to grant this application of mine quickly. On Monday (21 November), after the weekend that Kuya lost his phone, I browsed Globe plans and saw one that advertised an online application. The next day I filled up an application form online and the day after I submitted the requirements thru fax. Then today, Monday I got the phone already! Hurrah! However, I decided not to give it to him just yet and instead I would take the gadget for a road test and use it myself for a few days...

A LOST PHONE...AFTER JUST TWO WEEKS!

Two weeks ago, around November 5, my son was the proud owner of a brand new Samsung Galaxy Y phone. But then yesterday after eating lunch and as the rest of us were busy doing our regular tasks – Ditse with her laundry, the hubby with his smaller TV rack, K and I fixing toys and books to determine which ones to clear out and give away – bad news came. We learned that my son’s phone was missing. He was at the internet shop at around 12 noon and there were just a few of them there at the time. He stood up for a bit to borrow a card reader from the pc shop helper and when he remembered his phone, it was not there beside him.

In truth, I do not know what to feel. The hubby was obviously angry and took it out on the aluminium screen door, kicking it thus creating a dent. He talked to the two guys who were with my son at the PC shop and he deduced that my son’s friend was not lying when he said he did not see it but the helper obviously was. But then, there was nothing we could do much about it. I guess it was ultimately my son’s fault that his phone got lost. Though I wanted to comfort him and let him know it was OK, I knew he had to learn his lesson. He had to continue paying for his half of the phone with his allowance money, even if the phone is no longer present. Oh well, even if I had wanted to buy him a new one, I don’t have the extra money to pay for it. He would just need to be more responsible with his possessions and so I would let him stew without a phone for now.

ANOTHER TV RACK!

Early this month, we received a second-hand JVC TV from my brother. He had it shipped about a month ago and it only arrived on the first week of thIS month and just in time for us to get it during Mama’s birthday and my sister’s despedida. It was his old TV in Abu Dhabi, 29 –inches with a flat screen but its back is still so big which made it quite heavy. He tried to sell it at first but since flat screen TVs are so cheap there he had difficulty finding any buyer and so he decided to just give it away, thankfully he gave it to me! So the hubby and I just decided to put it in our room upstairs but since we didn’t have a TV rack there and we wanted also to have something quite sturdy to hold it, he decided to do another smaller TV rack for our room.

This time, he’s definitely faster because the first pic was taken on the 20th. He constructed the rack in just one day. The second pic was taken just 4 days later and the third pic, a mere 6 days, on the 26th, the rack was already upstairs in our room with the TV on top and the computer below it. It’s just so nice to have my very own handy man around the house eh!?!

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 40: CHICKEN TERIYAKI

For the kids baon today, I decided to cook chicken teriyaki. But my daughter is not very fond of viands with different sauces and so after I fried the chicken fillets, I reserved some for her baon and just continued cooking the rest of the chicken for my son’s baon and mine too. The dish is quite easy, I simply marinated the chicken fillets in some salt, pepper, and calamansi the night before. Then, the next morning, I fried the chicken fillet after rolling them in a bit of flour/cornstarch mixture. Once fried, I set aside the chicken and proceeded to sauté garlic, onions and ginger in a little oil. Then I returned the chicken and the marinade, added more soy sauce, a bit of water and let it simmer while covered. You may add sugar, salt and pepper if needed. Finally, you may add cornstarch dissolved in a little water to thicken the sauce. Just top it over steaming hot rice and it’s ready for the kids’ lunchboxes!

BONE SCANNING

Today, we took advantage of free bone-scanning sponsored by a popular milk brand. It was held at the office clinic and there was a bit of a line but not really so long and it was moving quickly. First, they washed my right foot with alcohol and placed it in a contraption that seemed like a foot spa although it wasn’t wet at all. After a while, I felt it tightening a bit and within a few seconds it gave out a reading and the results showed I was at high risk for osteoporosis???Really now… I don’t think it was truly accurate since even if I don’t take calcium tablets, I take my milk sometimes and even yoghurt. I guess it comes with age and the fact that the sponsor of the event needed to sell their product. So I decided to buy the milk they had on display outside the clinic (with free taste!), both in vanilla and chocolate flavors just to ensure that I would get all the calcium that I need!

TV RACK UPDATE

Just a quickie - an update of the TV rack he started doing last week. After we bought some black paint at Ace, he was finally able to paint the TV rack in the color we wanted. All that’s lacking now are the glass doors but he still doesn’t know where to buy them and how to place them. He has definitely improved since this one was completed in just one week! Here’s how the new TV rack looks now…




We decided to start using the TV rack, even sans the glass panel so we could give the old one to Ditse when we go home to the province - very pretty indeed!

A REGISTERED VOTER AT LAST!

At long last, after forty (40) years of existence and twenty two (22) years as a legal-aged citizen, I am finally a registered voter! And why did it take me so long??? Well, to tell you frankly there are just a myriad of reasons – at first when I just turned 18 and thereabouts, our family was always changing residences – I remember turning 18 at Matapat at Sikatuna Village but our place there was quite small and so the next year, we moved to Project 7. Then, I guess the fact that we changed residences so often made me unable to establish residency anywhere that would allow me to register in that particular place to vote!

After Paranaque, I moved in with the hubby and it heralded another round of moving in and out of just too many places until we finally settled down in 2000 at San Jose del Monte, Bulacan. By then, you would probably ask, why did I still remain unregistered when in fact, one of my sons registered to be able to vote for the SK. But I decided not to because I figured if I would go out and vote, I would much rather have it at the same place as the hubby so we could go vote together. It would be quite difficult for me to stay here at SJDM while he goes home to vote in his hometown. And so I waited until the right time came when I could register as a voter in Pampanga. But many elections came and went but almost always their registration period is only for Mondays to Fridays and I couldn’t very well absent myself from work just to register and so my waiting continued. I thought I would end up not being able to exercise my right to suffrage but at long last the long wait is over! Today, my brother-in-law texted that they’re having a special registration for new voters and so I would finally get my chance!

It was mid-afternoon already when we finally got to the barangay hall to register. I went with the hubby and a niece who would turn eighteen next month. When my turn came, the guy looked at me weirdly and asked? New voter? And I said yes, I just turned 18!!! So I explained a bit of my history and after some time he seemed to believe me. Anyway, I told him he could go and check the records at Comelec and he would see I have never been registered in my life. And so in just a little like thirty minutes – I AM NOW A REGISTERED VOTER! Now all I have to wait for now is for the next elections to come around and I would soon be able to see what a voting precinct looks like!

[photo from clipart]

NEW SAMSUNG CORBY PHONE FROM SUN!

Today, I got my new Samsung Corby phone from Sun. Well, actually they got it from SM last night since they availed the extension promo that comes with a new phone if we renew our Group Plan 999 with Sun. And since the hubby and I were on leave, they still went ahead and got it. I actually, would’ve wanted them to wait a bit until I could go with them and help in choosing a good phone but it seems they were in a bit of a hurry because one of my boss' kids insisted on a new phone ASAP! And so we had no choice but to go along since the plan is in her name after all. Anyway, I went up to the SUN shop yesterday after Ditse and I bought a cake for the hubby at Goldilocks and I saw that only the Samsung Corby II phone looked better in the SUN’s line-up of free phones in the Plan 350. It’s not yet Android but it’s the next best thing available. I only told them that I wanted white – not yellow or hot pink, just plain white! And thank God they have it in the color I wanted.

P.S. The only problem was that I got a text from SUN on Saturday, November 12, just 3 days after they got the Corby phone from SUN informing me that they are now offering the Samsung Galaxy Y at Plan 350 - oh no! I just knew we should have waited! My original plan kasi was to get a new phone when we pay on the 15th but they were in such a hurry! Now I won’t have the phone of my dreams just because they couldn’t wait. Now I guess the old adage is true - good things come to those who wait. Just too bad for me huhuhu!

A NEW PROJECT – TV RACK FOR THE NEW TV!

After about a week of rest, the hubby once again embarked on a new project – this time to construct a new TV rack for the new TV, but of course! The old one just won’t do since we would have to remove the top shelf just so our new 32-inch TV would fit in the old rack. He started making the rack yesterday from leftover wood that he scavenged. And today, he finished assembling it and had even painted the cabinet with white primer before he came in to dinner tonight. I guess he’s getting quite good at it because he seems to need less time to accomplish the cabinet itself. It helped, too, that he used a mechanical saw to cut the wood into the size that he wanted. Aside from being quicker, it was less strenuous than using an ordinary saw. Well, here’s a picture of the cabinet. He planned to paint it black but we still have to buy the paint. He also wants to install glass doors for it, but we have to find where to buy it and have it made by someone else coz he sure doesn’t know yet how to make that kind of a door, will provide more updates soon…

KITCHEN MISADVENTURE SERIES 39 – Turbo chicken in Rosemary and Garlic marinade

This is actually a very easy one because I kinda cheated a bit. Before Ditse and I left for the hospital at around lunch time, I marinated the chicken legs in store-bought Rosemary and Garlic marinade from McCormick. Then, when we got back home at around five and after having a bit of coffee, I simply popped the chicken legs in the turbo broiler and after about 20 minutes I flipped it over and then 20 minutes more … voila it’s finished!

A NEW SAMSUNG GALAXY Y FOR MY SON

The hubby and I decided to give our son an advanced graduation gift – his very own Samsung Galaxy Y phone! Actually, he had long been hankering me to buy him a new phone but aside from not having the budget for it, we didn’t think he was already responsible enough to take care of it well. This time, though, since he’s already in fourth year, we figured he may be old enough to take care of his things. What’s more the hubby and I decided that we would not be paying for the entire thing, we’ll just give a down payment for half of it while he pays for the other half with his allowance. That way, he may be more mindful of where he places the phone knowing that he’s paying for it with his own pocket money. Anyway, he never had a new phone yet. Ever since he has learned to text and go UNLI his phones are usually hand-me-downs from me or the hubby. In fact, his last phone is the free one I got when I availed a SUN plan last year.

And so after our short visit with Mama, off we went to SM Fairview to finally buy the phone of Keith’s dreams. Actually it took us awhile to browse for phones that he wanted – at first he said he wanted the Samsung Champ or the Corby but thankfully we waited a bit and this month, Samsung introduced a new Android phone that particularly targets the young – Samsung Galaxy Young! It’s not exactly at the price range of the regular smartphones but it has already a Gingerbread OS so it’s actually a very good buy indeed! The suggested retail price is PhP 5,850 but since we’re gonna buy this with a credit card it has a different price tag at Php 6,200. Of course, they keep saying that it has absolutely zero interest but not really if you consider the different price if you pay for it in cash or with a card. And so after a bit of browsing in the numerous shops at the Cyberzone, we finally settled on buying at BSD, the same shop the hubby bought his X2 because it offered the least interest. We then made our purchase and went home with one very happy child in tow!

P.S. Just too bad though coz after just 15 days, he lost his new phone to a heartless thief. Well, not really all his fault because the thief took advantage of his preoccupation with something (borrowing a card-reader) while at the internet shop. Turns out that my son is just too trusting and that the people whom he consider his friends may not really be his friends, after all…

A DOUBLE CELEBRATION FOR MY MOTHER’S BDAY AND A SISTER’S DESPEDIDA

We left the house at 11 am to visit Mama at Project 4. We’re having a double celebration of sorts since we’re celebrating her birthday (which is actually last November 3) and also a sister’s despedida since she would be leaving (finally!) for Abu Dhabi tomorrow. Thank God for this since I know she has long wanted to leave. She has been out of a job for a few months already and only last month I learned my brother is financing her visa to go to Abu Dhabi and search for a job there. Good thing too that she was finally able to complete all her requirements (including her school documents which had to be taken from her old school in Bohol) But at least, she can now breathe a sigh of relief that everything is finally in order and she can now leave. I just hope she gets a job soon as she only has one month to go out and search for a job otherwise her visa would expire and she may be forced to return back home…oh no!

We arrived at the house in time for lunch. The pasta was still cooking and my other sister still hasn’t arrived with the cake and so we waited a bit. I served the bbq and inihaw na bangus that we bought from Vanmicks. I went upstairs to help my sis sort out the clothes that she would be bringing. The others she would be giving away but they were all too small for me so I just let her do her thing. Ditse and the kids were in Mama’s room playing and hiding out from Gustav. After a while, when my sister arrived, we went down to eat. We had a fun time just eating and talking but as the usual case when we visit with Mama, there was just no space to hang out and rest after eating and so we are usually left with not much option but to leave early.

My brother called up twice and we were able to thank him early for the advanced Christmas gifts. The TV he gave us was so BIG! And heavy too but it was still a welcome gift nonetheless. He also had some old shoes and pants for my son ad the hubby and some lotion, bath soap and dishwashing liquid for me. He said the real Christmas gifts shall be sent after Christmas, a bit delayed since he needs to save up a bit for it due to the expenses he incurred but that’s OK! What matters is that he’d be sending us more gifts -yippee! Another Santa from the Middle East. Thank you Lord for the blessings!

THE TOWN (A Film review)

This one of the few good action movies that I have watched for the year since it had a good plot, the characters were developed very well and the ending was quite poetic – not so romantic like Filipino movies with a happy ending but not tragic either. It was just right! It is actually a story about four men: Doug MacRay (Ben Affleck), James "Jem" Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), Albert "Gloansy" Magloan (Slaine), and Desmond "Dez" Elden (Owen Burke), from the dangerous streets of Charlestown, a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. The town is known for being a breeding ground of bank robbers and these 4 friends are no different since they belong to a generation of bank robbers in their town. The first scene shows them robbing a bank, and taking bank manager Claire Keesey (Rebecca Hall) as hostage. After Claire's release, Doug follows her and soon develops a relationship with her.

FBI agent Adam Frawley (Jon Hamm) investigates the crew and soon finds out that they work for "Fergie" Colm (Pete Postlethwaite), a local florist. As Doug’s relationship with Claire progresses he becomes hesitant to undertake their next assignment, and his fears are confirmed during the robbery in the North End, where gunfire erupts. The police arrive quickly, a chase ensues, and the team barely escapes.

During a visit to his father (Chris Cooper) at the local federal prison, Doug reveals he is planning to leave Charlestown. So when the florist approaches Doug with another job he turns it down. He tells Fergie he will not do the job, but Fergie reveals that Doug's mother never left the family but committed suicide after Fergie got her addicted to drugs in retaliation for Doug's father attempt to leave (like what he is trying to do now). He threatens Doug that he will kill Claire if he does not do the job so Doug finally agrees.

The gang’s next job is at a baseball stadium at Fenway Park, they get in disguised as Boston police officers, trick the guards and counting room staff, steal millions of dollars, and prepare to leave in an ambulance dressed as paramedics. But, the FBI got info from Jem’s sister and Doug’s ex-girlfirend who got hurt that Doug’s left her for Claire so they were able to surround the building. They get into a gunfight with police officers and two of their friends die while Doug and Jem put their cop uniforms back on and slip out. But Agent Frawley figures out the ruse, catches sight of Jem, and tries to arrest him. Jem is cornered by the police. Knowing there is no way out, Jem chooses to let the police kill him in suicide by cop fashion, rather than go to prison for the rest of his life.

Doug escapes in a police cruiser, heads to Town Flowers, and kills Fergie, the florist. He calls Claire and asks her to come away with him, but he is watching from a house nearby and can see the FBI are in the same room with her. Claire, though she has learned of Doug’s lies to her at first tells him to come to pick her up, but in the end her love for him wins out and she gives him a coded message to warn him that the FBI are there. Doug escapes from Boston. Later, Claire finds a bag buried in a community garden containing money, a tangerine and a note that ends with "I'll see you again, on this side or the other." Claire uses the money to finance the renovation of a local hockey rink, and dedicates it to Doug's mother.

Nice ending eh - although Doug doesn’t get caught for his crimes he gets to turn over a new leaf and still he doesn’t get the girl. Overall, it was good directing by Ben Affleck. He's clearly a smart and avid student of the medium and in this second outing as a director, The Town, he has created such an enjoyable and exciting movie. With this crime drama, he more than proves that he also deserves to sit behind the camera.


[photo grabbed from IMDB]

A DAY TO HONOR THE DEAD

Every year, Filipinos set aside the first few days of November to pay their respects to their departed loved ones. During this time of the year, many take the opportunity to go home to the province and be with their families for some sort of reunion at the cemeteries. Others, however, opt to go on vacation to take advantage of the long holiday break. When I was younger and lived with my parents, we usually go to the Holy Cross cemetery to visit my mom’s mother and father. But we never really go with the crowd since my dad hates the traffic and so we usually end up going there the Sunday before Nov 1 or the Sunday after. We bring our mats, some food (usually rice and adobo), snacks, drinks, some playthings to keep us occupied (like cards or Frisbees) and spend the entire afternoon there (like a picnic). I liked the solitude and peace we enjoyed then since we were almost always the only people there. I remember going once to Holy Cross at exactly Nov. 1 and we had to walk about a kilometer or so because cars weren’t allowed to enter the compound. But it was fun, too, seeing all those people there and meeting up with relatives who also come and visit.

But that seemed a long time ago … when I got married and lived with my husband I was introduced to the way they spent their time for their dead but at a public cemetery this time. There were no large trees nor soft green grass where we could spread our mats to have a picnic or take our afternoon naps – just hard concrete tombs and a sea of people that seemingly just never ends. Admittedly it was a big adjustment for me since I have been used to the peace and quiet of Holy Cross. And so instead of going there in the morning or afternoon, we opted to go at night time where there are less people and we can still savor the peace and quiet that I so crave. Besides, it is hot and humid in the afternoons even though their place is covered and had a roof. It was also quite fascinating to see a multitude of candles lit up on top of different shapes and sizes of tombs.

But whatever the method that we choose to honor the dead what matters is that we do whatever means possible to remember them - with candles, with flowers, with lots of food and love for those relatives still living and get to meet only during these times of commemoration…