Tunay na kakaiba itong aming nakita
Animo’y kambal na dalampasigan sa kanan at kaliwa
“Snake Island” kung tawagin, o “Vigan Island” sa mga dalubhasa
Ano man ang ngalan niya, maganda at nakakamangha!
Kuha ito sa isa sa mga isla sa El Nido, Palawan, Pilipinas, noong Disyembre 2007.
One of the things that I learned to appreciate more every time we go on holiday in Manila is the amount of lush greenery our country is so abundantly blessed with. I guess having to spend three-quarters of a year in “sheer sandiness” does this to a person… 
Among the plants which caught my eye were these two. Can you guess why?
Pardon the picture quality – was in a bit of a rush when I took this as we were in the midst of ordering our lunch then…
This was taken from my parents’ backyard
True. They look pretty much ordinary the first time you see them but try and look a little more closely and I bet you’ll also see them in a different light. 
From the “run-of-the-mill”-looking bush, I was pleasantly surprised at what this “plain Jane” of a plant had to offer…
Calaman-”see”! Whaddyaknow? The bush turned out to be a fruit-bearing calamansi (Philippine lemon) plant! Haven’t seen this in a while…
While the unassuming flowering plant turned out to be an unusual variety of santan! Santan usually grow in a shrub-like manner so I was very surprised to find that this one actually grew like a vine – imagine that! The santan flowers are actually only resting atop a Japanese bamboo. Neat, isn’t it?
Just goes to show that if we only find the time and interest to look at things (and people!) more closely, what we write off as ordinary or unimportant may actually turn out to be pretty special.
Have a good week ahead, everyone! I will most definitely do as I look forward to hubby’s “homecoming” this Thursday…
Apart from the requisite “to do” list, hubby and I always make it a point to tick off as much as we can from our (you guessed it) “to eat” list every time we go on home leave.
You can just imagine my excitement when my mom granted one of my “foodie wishes” two days ago when she treated me and my dad to these…
Clockwise from left: Sesame balls (aka buchi), pork siomai, taro puffs and steamed shrimp siomai
“Dimsum Delights” indeed!
Almond lychee goodness! Wonder why almost all restos in Manila use cherries to garnish their desserts? Any idea why?
Ahhh…life’s simple joys indeed! I’m glad that I can now take out Luk Yuen from my list – hahaha!
Thanks, Ma, for making my dimsum dreams come true!
Marahil, isa sa mga pinakamasarap na impluwensyang kanluranin sa ating kultura ay sa larangan ng pagkain.
Sa linggong ito, ang napili kong lahok ay may impluwensiyang Pranses – ang “mango crepe”.
Isa na ata sa mga katakam-takam na natikman kong bersyon ng panghimagas na ito ay ang sa UCC (na ang ibig sabihin pala ay Ueshima Cofee Company) Cafe Westgate na malapit sa amin. Sa halip na sariwang mangga ang nasa loob ng crepe ay malinamnam na sorbetes mangga – tunay na nakapagpapaginhawa ng pakiramdam. Isang subo pa lang e malilimot mo na ang maalinsangan at mainit na klima ng Maynila
Tikim na! 
…is what I (almost) had for breakfast over the weekend! 
How did it happen, you say? What I thought was going to be a ho-hum morning turned out to be pretty exciting (?) and unusual. As I was pouring my fave cereal from its box, I certainly had the surprise of my life when a blackish, fat house lizard (“butiki” in Tagalog) also landed on my cereal bowl together with the bananas and almond clusters! It must’ve panicked as well since it quickly jumped from the cereal bowl onto the table and then to the tiled floor – talk about a major “eeew” moment! How it got there, I’ll never know… guess it had the same healthy breakfast idea as I had – hahaha! 
Needless to say, I was definitely grossed out… Another thing’s for sure too – I’ll never take the expression “leapin’ lizards!” the same way again!
How about you? What’s the most unusual thing you have ever had for breakfast?
Kay gandang pagmasdan bakurang luntian
Nakapapawi ng pagod, lungkot naiibsan
Sabayan pa ng hanging umiihip nang marahan
Animo’y paraiso’y panandaliang nakamtan
Many forgotten starlets have mouthed this phrase oh-so-many-times that it honestly has lost much of its significance…
This phrase took on a new meaning for me, however, when our two boys, Luigi and Rafa, decided to celebrate the 4th of July quite differently – yup, you got it – by joining an art class!
Thank God for cousin-in-law Honey who managed to swing a deal with talented art teacher Jojo de Silva (the dad of one-time Promil gifted child, CJ de Silva) to privately teach our kids (together with four of their cousins) the “rudiments of painting” (naks!) for two hours once a week. What’s more, she even graciously hosted the venue (plus yummy merienda too!) for said refresher course for the cousins – maraming salamat!
Needless to say, the two boys eagerly look forward to Fridays ever since they started with their art lessons. I perfectly understand why - apart from them being able to create beautiful projects, it also makes for fabulous play and bonding time with the cousins they miss so much!
I was truly amazed at what the boys were able to do on the first session alone. See?
“Flowers” was the chosen theme for the week. The left one is Luigi’s while the right one is Rafa’s interpretation of the same subject. Ain’t they just smashin’?
I decided to tag along for their second ”art attack” to better observe how Mr de Silva can bring out such wonderful “creations” from these kids. Suffice it to say, I was very pleased and impressed with what I saw. Here are some snapshots from the boys’ second art lesson.
Started off with the “tools of the trade”: the requisite canvas…
As well as the brushes and paint (acrylic was the medium of choice for their sessions, btw)
Here’s Rafa starting to sketch
Then working the brushes and paint
And Luigi struttin’ his stuff
The (almost) finished product of the second session – Fill in the Fruits!
What more can I say? The two Fridays that the boys have spent (and the four more they look forward to) “for the sake of art” have truly been fab and absolutely fun!
Luigi and Rafa, here’s to more “masterpieces” to come! Thank you for again adding to Mama and Papa’s “bragging rights” - we are proud of you!
Online pal Mommy Ba tagged me with this. Thanks for wanting to get to know me more, MB!
The rules are simple. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment, letting them know they’ve been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve posted your answer.
1. What was I doing 10 years ago? I was newly married and eagerly expecting our first child.
2. What are the 5 things on my to-do list today?
) 3. Snacks I enjoy: sushi, ice cream, bibingka, chips
4. Places where I lived: am a true-blue “Southern belle” as I’ve lived south of the metro (Manila) most my life. Two years ago, I went with my husband and family for a taste of some serious desert adventures in the “kingdom far away”.
5. Things I’d do if I were a billionaire:
6. People I want to know more are Roselle, Mousey, G Mirage, Iska, Ibyang and Teys.
Manatili pa kaya ang “kartada otso” mo kung panay ang tikim mo sa mga paninda dito?
Di man ako taga-hanga ng larong boksing dahil masyadong “brutal” ang dating nito sa akin, di ko mapigilan ang aking paghanga sa nag-iisang “Pambansang Kamao” na si Manny Pacquiao. Pinatunayan niya na kaya ng mga Pilipino makipagsabayan at manaig sa mga pambato mula sa iba’t ibang bansa. Siya ngayon ang tinaguriang ”greatest pound for pound fighter of all time” dahil sa pagkakapanalo niya sa apat na iba’t ibang dibisyon ng boksing. Ipinakita niya na kailangan lamang ang sipag, disiplina, determinasyon at ang malalim na pananalig sa lumikha para makamit ang mga pangarap at minimithi sa buhay.
Marahil, ang naisulat ni Recah Trinidad sa Philippine Daily Inquirer kamakailan kung paano tinulungan ni Pacquiao ang kanyang katunggali matapos niya itong mapatumba – sa halip na pabayaan lamang ito at agad na yakapin ang kanyang matamis na tagumpay – ay isa na sa pinakamagandang deskripsyon kung ano ang sinasagisag ng isang Manny Pacquiao sa ating mga Pilipino:
“…Pacquiao may have not realized it but, after making his countrymen very proud with his conquest of a fourth world crown, he next handed the Pinoy a rare gift. The native nobility Pacquiao displayed in that moment of moments helped immeasurably in telling the world that the Filipino, cheated, cursed, corrupted, is brave, strong, and, last but not the least, worthy of applause and respect.
Thank God for the greatest Filipino fighter ever.”
Mabuhay ka, Pacman! Saludo kami sa iyo – tunay na ipinamalas mo ang “Tatak Pinoy” sa buong mundo!
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