Working Moms and More

Pasta ala Nina, my version

2011-10-31T14:55:00.000+08:00

I hope I did some justice to my BFF's pasta recipe- I call it pasta ala nina. I don't dare publish the ingredients here and the correct measurements - for I can't remember (sigh...). Anyway, here's my version - I just remember one more thing I forgot, it should have olives in it. Nonetheless, I rate it as a "okay", for now I'll just wait til Nina makes one for us again - hers is way tastier. What actually inspires me to make this pasta recipe is that the basil in my garden are getting taller, about to bear flower already, and yet I haven't really used it in the kitchen. If you remember the "Sonya's Garden" post, I bought the basil from there. I learned that once basil flowers bloom, the leaves will taste a bit bitter. So I found a way to make use of the basil leaves.

The famous Davao Pomelo

2011-10-30T10:37:00.000+08:00

There's a lot of catching up to do in here. I start with this delectable, juicy encounter with Davao's famous pomelo I bought from SM Hypermarket. It's really pricey but I tell you, it's worth it. My kids loved it coz it's so sweet, and juicy. The kids are enjoying their semestral break with lots of TV hours these days. The pomelo was a great, healthy treat for couch potatoes!
I remember our paternal ancestral home flanked with lots of variants of pomelo when I was young. Some trees were huge, some were easier to climb. When my grandpa, the one who planted these trees, passed away, the pomelo trees started to die one by one too. The fruits too were sweet but nothing beats the Davao pomelo.

Sonya's Garden: A Special Feature

2011-08-26T09:08:00.000+08:00

Consider this my lucky day. Yes folks, we visited "The" Sonya's Garden in Alfonso, Cavite. And what can I say, much is said about this talk of the town - Bed and Breakfast. A romantic getaway, so great if you yearn for peace and quiet, very refreshing, just what you need for an amazing vacation and instant too - coz it's very near Manila. A lot of weddings take place in Sonya's. And who wouldn't love to? It's an amazingly beautiful place. We went there for a lunch, an eat-all-you-can. Someone really special took us there and it was a memorable experience -one that is climbing my chart of unforgettable places. We really love the food, the garden, the flower bowls, the bakeshop, and the rest rooms too! Oh how nice they are! The restaurant is amazing in itself, it takes you back to your old Filipino heritage with their interiors. I love the salad menu and assortment of spreads into their high-fiber, healthy bread. The pesto is heavenly. The eat-all-you-can is not the usual buffet type. The salad, of course, is served first along with the bread and spreads.The leaves and fruits and nuts are served separately so you can create your own salad. They replenish whatever it is you want to get replenished. When you're done, then they would serve the pasta, you can also create your own pasta meal with the different sauces. They also replenish everything that you want. Cool! But I didn't get to enjoy it much coz I ate a lot, and I mean a lot, of salads already. So this is great if you are on a diet, really. But I was told that the menu do not change very frequently, so it's not advisable to eat lunch there every now and then. You might want to go back there after a couple of months to see a different menu. This photo above is that of the rest room in the restaurant my friends and I really liked. The capiz, wood, and curtains are all nostalgic Filipino. Meanwhile, the tea that they serve after the meal, fresh tarragon leaves, can be bought from their herbs garden. I bought myself a basil, tarragon, and mint. I'll put up my own herbs garden, just wait and see.
The things I fell for in this amazing place are its romantic nooks such as this one. So fairly tale-like. So many photos were taken in this area alone. Come and see Sonya's Garden for yourself. Bring along your special someone, it's a place meant for the romantic. If not, bring your friends along, or family perhaps, it's a nice place to experience. But remember, it's a quiet place, let's keep it that way when we visit. Cheers!

Moon over sunset

2011-08-15T22:09:00.000+08:00

I was mesmerized the other day at dusk upon seeing the lovely moon looming over the equally majestic sunset clouds just about to turn from white to orange before they got eaten up by darkness. It was a sight that is truly rare, so I frantically searched for my camera to steal a shot. I was on my way home then. By the time I reached the house, the sight below was all I can photograph, for the wind already was blowing. But I thought it was still a great scene. Actually, had I known how to paint, this would really inspire the Van Gogh in me. Oh I wish.

Busy with blocks

2011-08-12T18:52:00.004+08:00

If there is any other thing Andre's busy with aside from sketching - it's building blocks -even his Jenga blocks are not being used for what it's meant for coz he likes to build things - a lot! He's got some nice, sometimes unbelievable, creations. I have no idea how he came up with these things in his mind because whenever he does them - he doesn't have any object in front of him to imitate. It must be there already in his mind - the picture of the objects he's building. The one above is a pirate ship. And owing to his addiction of Harry Potter, the train below is his version of the Hogwarts Express. This one below is, according to him, the Empire State Building inspired by Percy Jackson. Not bad huh?
This one below is an earlier version of pirate ship, because he liked Peter Pan.
And last but not the least - here's Andre's Ron Weasley's house in Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.

Sunny day at last

2011-08-09T13:44:00.000+08:00

Sunny day at last. There is nothing more refreshing and relieving than seeing the bright sun shines again after days and maybe weeks of heavy rains and gloomy sky. At last we can leave our laundry outside to dry up today. I was so glad to see the bright sun this morning - glad enough to take a shot of the neighbors' roof and the blue sky - the colors are giving out great contrasts. After taking Sean to school, I went around with my bike to take some sunny day photos. I've missed doing this for a while since it has been, as I said, raining all the time.

Sean's Phineas and Ferb

2011-08-08T23:32:00.002+08:00

From Sean's sketches

After featuring Andre's works, it's only fair I do the same with his older brother's artworks. Here is Sean's rare sketch of one of his favorites - Phineas and Ferb. It's a pity I wasn't able to document his drawings before. He also had lots of sketches like Andre. But more than sketching, Sean is more into building things out of Lego. Check out that post about Sean, the lego artist. He has created cute Wall-e, and Optimus and Jetfire together, Devastator, and Demolishor from his most favorite movie Transformers. There are also T-rex, spinosaurus, and various vehicles on this post. We're so glad and proud of both Andre and Sean, they're really talented.

Learning botanical illustration

2011-08-07T10:22:00.000+08:00

My fondness of nature's elegant beauty comes out once more. I've searched the net high and low to learn how to draw botanics. I'm deeply infatuated with botanical sketches nowadays. The more vintage the sketches are, the lovelier they look. As you may know already, those who have been following my posts, I take a lot of inspiration from my favorite - Amy Merrick and her blog. But deeply loving nature is innate to me, it is not an overnight thing, I remember having my own garden in our humble home back in the province when I was still in grade school, I took community beautification as my girl scout project in high school, I would have preferred to study Forestry in college but my dad talked me out of it coz women foresters, he said, would only get deployed in the office and not on field, I felt elated when I got in UP Los Banos because of its vast, naturally beautiful campus. And Botany was my favorite in Biology class. There's something in me that tells me - maybe I used to be a botanist, or a florist, or maybe a lady-gardener in my past life.(Above photo from here, below was taken from here)

Botanical illustration is what I've been wanting to learn for a long time. Here, I found a great tutorial blog for botanical drawing -Val Webb's The Illustrated Garden. Check out her site, there are video illustrations, clear ones unlike the others, on how to draw flowers. I tried to follow her step by step instruction on drawing a petunia. I came up with the drawing in pencil below,pardon coz it's quite messy. But it's way better I guess than the 2-dimensional drawings I first did (far below). The pencil is what I'm going to study first, the watercolors can follow later. I thought at first it's not difficult because the flower looks so simple. But it's not. You've got to be very careful with angle, shading can be tricky. It's not easy to achieve the 3-dimensional view of the flower.

If like me, you want to get serious with drawing, these are the other online tutorial links I recommend because the instructions come with pictures, just great for newbies:
O Sweet Nature - for watercolor tutorial
Art Graphica - for colored pencils

Andre's sketches

2011-08-05T21:54:00.006+08:00

Andre has been busy again recently with his sketches. I'd like to share some of them. Pardon the messy sketches, he has a habit of sketching many stuffs in one small page making it difficult for me to crop things to separate one from the other. The one above is the skyline of Paris, only the Eiffel Tower is smaller relative to other nearby structures. You would notice this if you compare it with the actual Paris skyline photo below (photo owner here).

This one below looks like a truck carrying a boat? (see top part), silly me. Next to this is well, a boat, that looks rather incomplete/unfinished. But I like the angle of this sketch.

Now here's a messy Lightning Mcqueen. One thing about Andre's sketching is that he rarely used a pencil, always a ballpoint - so that explains the ruggedness of his drawings, and without colors. This is perhaps his own style of drawing, that - I respect and admire.

This one below - he told me, is the house in the movie Signs (Mel Gibson) with the alien spaceships looming ahead. Brilliant. Then there is Astroboy, one of his favorite movies.

This finale is Andre's ever favorite subject, the house of Mr. Fredricksen in UP the movie. It is also my most favorite among his artworks - because even if it is very tiny, no more than 3 inches in length, it has great details in it. Check out Andre's other art works on this movie.

Andre is my younger son. He's now 6 years old. He loves sketching very much, among his other favorite drawing subjects are Harry Potter's Hogwarts School, Ron's house, Hogwarts Express. 'Gotta dig up those and put them all up in here. This is all for now.

I heart stamps

2011-08-04T18:27:00.001+08:00

I'm very pleased to share here in my blog my dear friend's stamp collection - a two-generation family collection that she's been keeping for years now. Her collection includes stamps that date back from the 70s and 80s. Among those she has, I like the Australia and USA stamps the most because they're so colorful. Others bring back a lot of memories - like the one she has on the Girl Scouts of the Philippines (I was and will always remain a Girl Scout), and those from the Middle East where my folks used to work as contract workers. Collecting stamps was quite a common hobby back then, it is a great way to preserve and commemorate important events, things and people. Sadly, because we rarely write letters nowadays, this hobby has become almost obsolete. I'm glad every time I see collections such as these - they look so nostalgic, vintage, real, tangible.

I remember being a Girl Scout back in my grade school and high school. I was even a Chief Girl Scout Medalist - the Chief Girl Scout Medal is the highest award given to any girl scout in the country. It is awarded by the Chief Girl Scout herself (usually the First Lady) to a girl scout who has done valuable service to her community and duly endorsed by her Council. I remember there were procedures in choosing the awardees, I was already in my first year in college when I was awarded the medal. During my time, it was Fist Lady Ming Ramos who awarded me the medal along with other Medalists. Neat!

This one above bears the early Filipino writing- Alibata for the International Conference of the Red Cross 1981 (I believe the writing says Krus na Pula). It's a pity we did not preserve the native alphabet. Meanwhile, the stamps of Australia below show those of typical natural endowments of the land down under. Next to these are some vintage-looking Australian stamps (Christmas Island, Tennis, John Brown, Rose and the Midnight Cat, Sandy Beach, and more).

These US stamps look really vintage. There's one that shows the Conestoga Wagon, the Yosemite, and manned moon rover. And last but not the least, "ang bayan kong Pilipinas" and some stamps from the middle east. So thankful to the owner for letting me exploit her precious collection.

Japan Home Center

2011-08-03T09:08:00.002+08:00

'Passed by the Japan Home Center, commonly known as Daiso in Japan, last week. And I got myself some nice looking body and foot scrubs. The foot bath salt reads "Cappuccino Horniness-Removing." Hehehe! I would have preferred "callus-removing" there. Anyway, it is always fun dropping by this store. One can really get some nice bargains. I got these two cute notebooks below for only P88. I also got 4 rolls of soft paper towels for the same price. There are 3 stores of Japan Home Center in Makati, one in Walter Mart, just across Don Bosco Makati, another in Park Square 1, along Pasay Road (Arnaiz Ave.) and in Cash and Carry along South Super Hi-way. Look for other stores in the official website of Japan Home Center. Just one tip when you go in any branch, buy only the essentials - those that you think really are good bargains, or you'll end up buying so many cute stuffs you wont be needing. It's actually a good idea to buy those very affordable but useful things, you can even start buying gifts for Christmas as early as now. These notebooks below can be really nice gifts, especially for teens, just wrap them with tissue gift wrap and tie them up with a nice ribbon.

Pen that

2011-07-31T16:13:00.000+08:00

Nothing beats the original - the nostalgic, personal, and artistic elements of writing a letter.

I'm currently digging and hoping to put into order my old stuffs when I saw these classic and dreamy envelops made of used onion skin. 'Bought them from Tokyo ages ago, at The National Art Center Tokyo which happens to be our neighbor back then (I was studying then at GRIPS Tokyo, just fronting the Arts Center).

'Pity how I never got to use them. I guess I've used only one, when I wrote a letter to my beloved husband. I've kept it all these years. They just so nice to look at aren't they?

These days, we're content with emails and instant messages, text messages in our mobile phones, video calls, chats. They define what modern communication is. They are a must in our day to day life. Our attention span in general has shortened through time. Perhaps, writing a letter in a paper using a pen looks so medieval already, it's time-consuming, inefficient, even ridiculous. Why waste time in writing and delivering your mail at the post when you can tell your message to the person whom you want to get in touch with in just a blink of an eye? Sadly, writing letters doesn't appeal anymore. I shouldn't be happier in keeping my cutesy special envelops, I should be using them instead to say hello to special people to make them feel even more special...Perhaps I will..one of these days.

An Apple a Day

2011-07-30T18:23:00.001+08:00

I'm just so amazed and speechless whenever I visit my most favorite blog - An Apple a Day. Every post is memorable, every image captivating. I'm more of a visual person, so outstanding images can easily attract me. This is the very same reason why I put images to every post I make. I love photographing, I'm still learning, I like blogging a lot. It's an outlet and a venue for experimentation.

The setting of An Apple a Day is New York, sometimes, it's the author's home in New Hampshire- but wherever she is - be it in a enviable travel to Europe or just around New York, her photos are just so amazing.

The author is a floral designer and a crafter, apart from blogger of course. She's been featured in magazines. I take lots of inspiration from her and her blog. It's just so dreamy. Take a look - you'll understand what I am saying!

The pork barbecue and sodium

2011-07-29T08:49:00.000+08:00

So appetizing, isn't it? No Pinoy can resist this mouth-watering, finger-lickin', Pinoy classic pork barbecue sold either on the streets or in some Filipino restaurant or food chain. It's ever present during parties. It's best eaten when dipped with vinegar with siling labuyo and onions. There are many versions of it, but we, Pinoys, always go back to this salty-sweet unique taste of our local barbecue. I can guess that a lot of you may be swallowing, craving for it this moment, I know exactly how you are feeling. :)
But just before you go and grab some, here's some warning. Not that I'm letting you drool over it only to spoil your appetite just even before you can have some, but just a friendly reminded - a stick of that can give you 111 calories - oh no big deal, that's very little. But- the warning comes with the sodium content. You eat 5 sticks of that and you're approaching your quota on sodium. It is because a stick contains about 429 mg - and our daily intake limit for sodium should not be more than 2,400 mg. If you have a heart or kidney disease your limit is only 2,000mg. This limit should include ALL salt and sodium consumed, including those in cooking and at the table. So the next time we eat barbecue, we take note of the amount, and the other salty food that we are going to eat on that day. If we can't resist the temptation, we should watch our sodium intake for the rest of the day! That way, we're happy but not at the expense of good kidney health. Cheers!
For more reading:
My Fitness Pal
Harvard Health
Anne Collins

Speak up and grab this!

2011-07-27T11:14:00.001+08:00

I've been feeling inspired these days (or did you noticed?) because I've received nice feedback from friends who were obliged to visit my site (lol!) through my endless campaign at Facebook. So I want to give out something. It's not much but it's so pretty and with nostalgic meaning to me 'cause I bought this from one of my favorite cities- Seoul. It's a purse, big enough for your face powder, or your coins, (and it's new, lol). I've given its sisters only to my two bestfriends. I bought it from an unforgettable shopping street in Seoul - Insadong. I really like to go back there. It's full of nice Korean things - antiques and not. It's more than just shopping, it's enjoying the atmosphere - the likes of living your favorite Korean Drama, walking about those alleys and shops. Oh, I'll post about that again later (coz I'm still not over it).

So here are the rules:

1. Speak up, let your voice be heard by leaving a comment in any of my posts. I FORGOT TO PUT THIS PART, BUT IN YOUR COMMENT, in any of the posts, YOU MUST SIGNIFY YOUR DESIRE TO WIN THIS. OTHERWISE, YOU WILL NOT BE INCLUDED IN THE CONTEST. YOU MUST ALSO MAKE SURE TO "LIKE ME" ON FACEBOOK - THE LINK IN ON THE RIGHT SIDE.

2. I don't encourage one-liners. I appreciate your honest opinion on my opinions and my travels, etc.

3. I will draw the winner through a statistically acceptable (if that's the correct term) manner. If you leave your email address in your comment (or if you log in when you comment), I will notify you via email if you win. I will also post the username of the winner here at Working Moms and More.

4. The game officially begins as I publish this post and I will announce later the deadline.

5. In case the winner lives outside the Philippines, the shipping time may take a while, maybe weeks. Sorry for this.
6. Also, my apologies to the men, well you can still take part. You can always give this to your wife/girlfriend/sister in case you win.:)

So let's hear from you. Cheers!

What is white balance?

2011-07-27T08:04:00.003+08:00

I've been using my camera for quite a long time now. I know I should've taken those classes my friend suggested to me a long time ago. I really need to learn photography, not only for blogging but also for family photography purposes, but my hands are so full with many other things. The other day, I was making "kutingting" my camera and wanted to play with white balance. So I pointed at a white flower in my little garden, and ceteris paribus, I changed the white balance setting in 6 six different types - direct sunlight, fluorescent, incandescent, shade, flash, and cloudy. Oh and well, it was not a sunny day so that explains the general "sad" look of the photos.

Let me share what I've rummaged so far from the internet about white balance:
Auto - camera makes best guess
Incandescent - for indoors, cools down the colors in photos, generates a bluish color
Fluorescent - will warm the cool effect of fluorescent lighting
Direct sunlight - fairly normal setting
Cloudy - warms up more than direct sunlight setting does (turns out more yellowish)
Shade - generally bluer than in direct sunlight, warm things up just little
Flash - also warm up your shots
An introduction to White Balance, I recommend these sites:
Digital Photography School
Pixiq (thumbs up!)

Cloudy encounters

2011-07-25T08:59:00.000+08:00

I don't know whether it is the dusk or the clouds

Or the wind gently breezing

It is truly a sight

Of beauty rarely noticed
As the sun sets down
It makes walking about fun
Soft, weightless clouds
Take me, lead me abound
'love the ordinary days
Like the calm, breezy clouds
Indeed, peace is a beauty
Look up the sky and one can see

Day in the gardens

2011-07-23T16:11:00.003+08:00

By now you'd probably know how fond I am with nature, plants, gardens, flowers...The gardens along Daang Hari Road in Molino, Bacoor is one of my favorite sites in our new place. It's where I got all those indoor plants I've been photographing all this time. I went to buy some more indoor plants and flowering ones.

I got there early in the morning aboard my bike of course, and I was lucky enough to see the white lotus flower in full bloom. Well, the owner says it's lotus but it looks like a lily. But whatever it is, it's amazing. When I zoom my lens in, it's like - it's the only bright thing there is. It's really nice. The owner told me to capture it while it's in full bloom, petals open, the best moment to see its beauty. I immensely enjoyed my time at the gardens.

'Will miss Harry Potter

2011-07-22T22:14:00.002+08:00

A decade of incomparable caliber of fantasy-making is coming to an end. I wished it to go on for many more years. But this desire might not have grown as intense as this had the story lasted any longer - and so it must end.
I watched Deathly Hallows Part 2 twice, once with the kids and once with my best friends. It was a moment to remember, almost nostalgic, there won't be anymore movie about Harry, Hermione, and Ron.
I must say I'm a fan of the movie, not of the book yet. But I will start reading the book soon. You see, the good thing about being a fan of the movie rather than the book is that I get to enjoy the movie without any bias, without any hard feelings just in case the movie does not stay true to the book. It also encourages me to get even more interested and curious with the story, with the book itself, because there are questions unanswered. At least I still got something to look forward to - to read more about Harry and whole gang. Kodus to Harry Potter!!!
(Drawing above by Andre).

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 is now showing at Glorietta cinemas, available in 3D.

Saizeriya in Shanghai

2011-07-20T17:11:00.003+08:00

I have a favorite Italian restaurant back when I was in Tokyo - Saizeriya, that I was so happy to find in Shanghai (Nanjing Road) during my China trip last month. It's not only because its menu was really affordable for graduate students like me back then, but most especially because the food was really good. These haven't changed. The food is really good and affordable especially in China. The salad costs only about 9 yuan. I like it a lot that their serving for salad is large enough for my huge appetite. I ordered my favorite -grilled chicken! Yummy!

Make more green

2011-07-18T23:44:00.002+08:00

My potted indoor plants are growing and multiplying. It’s about time to trim and create more li'l versions out of ‘em. Let’s see if I have that green thumb my dad, God bless his soul, have had. I’m after all a farmer’s daughter, so this should be effortless. I’m enjoying the calm and fresh feeling of having indoor plants in random places in the house - on top of the fridge, by the flush tank, in the corner of the living room, on the lower shelf of my console table, on the upper part of my bedroom shelf...by the kitchen window...beside the TV...lots of greens all around. I just love it!

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Timeless treasures at the thrift shop

2011-07-16T23:53:00.003+08:00

These days, it isn't easy to find things that of good quality but great value for money. But with a little more effort in looking and really sorting through items, one can have a great advantage going to thrift shops rather than buying new ones from say the mall or the furniture store. With the right timing and a dose of luck, you can really get items such as furniture and accessories that are priceless. I have been going with my bestfriends to thrift shops recently, we were looking for a 6-seater table made of solid narra wood. My bestfriend needed a table that goes with her narra chairs, such pricey inheritance from her ancestors, because they are moving to a new house. Because she had been moving around asking lots of people already, she kinda learned quite a lot about the stuff she needs including the prices. Usually, the price of a solid narra table would range from 20,000 to 30,000 but she got hers for only about 16,000. It's a good bargain for such a rare and valuable piece. And there's so much more than furniture that are worth visiting in thrift shops. There are decors, chinaware, and collectors items such as the Elvis Presley doll (shown in the photo below). There are also lamps, chandeliers, signature bags and women's accessories, all pre-loved of course. These photos shown are those from thrift shops in Hen. Hizon Street in Bangkal, Makati - you might want to check it out.

A nice bargain

2011-07-15T12:00:00.003+08:00

It was a real nice bargain. It costed me only 2,400 pesos, around USD50 in an automotive supply/repair shop in Bangkal, Makati. My friends took me there, it was really so nice of them to. There were other equally nice bikes to choose from. There were pink, yellow, blue colored ones. But I especially liked this one because it's relatively newer, sleeker, and more versatile in color.
We did not waste much time. I bought it and here it is now. I am enjoying it, it's so speedy, easy to pedal, and with accessories still intact (light and lock). A great bargain - great value for money. The nearest store of second-hand Japanese bicycles here in Bacoor put the price of such at around 6,000 pesos. I heard there were also several stores in Magallanes, Makati selling low priced bikes -but this one would still be around 3,500 pesos. Lucky me!

Stroll by

2011-07-14T07:01:00.005+08:00

The gated community is a nice place to go strolling on a bike. For now, the kids have theirs. I'm going to make sure I will have too, by this month's end. There are some nice second-hand Japanese brand bicycle stores nearby and I'm going to check those out. I like the good quality, light bicycles I used around Odaiba back in 2006-2007. I see more and more people using bicycles instead of their cars these days in going to nearby markets and groceries, it's not only economical and energy-saving, it's for fitness as well. I'm gonna have one that is sleek and has a basket in front. I miss my life when I was in Tokyo where everything is pleasant outdoors. Somehow, being in a gated commune is reminiscent of that pleasantness.

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Ailing green revolution

2011-07-12T23:39:00.005+08:00

My indoor plants are suffering due to an apparent lack of TLC. They're either devoid of sunlight, turning all yellow lacking chlorophyll, or soaking under the rain. Even so, they never fail to brighten up my mornings. Green is always in, so refreshing. My aim for this year is to turn my balcony into a den of indoor plants - so I can zest up boring corners of the house.