Thank You!

Many thanks once more, dear Blogbookers, for your generous gift card to Boo! 

For his birthday, we followed a baon theme and purchased a bento box, a 12oz thermos, and silicone baking cups.

For Christmas, of course we went with toys and such: a jigsaw puzzle, some building blocks, a Sesame Street book, mini-Grover and mini-Elmo, and dot markers. 

There's still a sizable balance on the gift card.  We'll save it for next year.

Much love to you all! 

Halloween Treats

In honor of the Great Pumpkin's 50th...

... the adorable Peanuts® characters figure rather prominently in our Halloween treats this year.

It is typical for school kids around here to give each classmate a treat for Halloween.  Since my son has several classmates with food allergies, we decided on non-food treats.  Each kid is getting a little Peanuts® bag containing four mini coloring books, a box of crayons, a set of Peanuts® Halloween stickers, and (isinama na rin) an invitation to my son's birthday party. 

 

Nine bags down, one to go.

 

Am pretty happy with my DIY tags.

Happy Halloween!

KonMari

Earlier this year, thanks to Phoebe, the Blogbookers learned about Marie Kondo and her very popular and (fans say) life-changing method of decluttering and organizing called KonMari.  I made a mental note to try it, and yesterday, I finally did.

I began with the family’s most frequently used drawers, those that are opened at least once everyday.  There isn't a “before” photo for each drawer, but let’s just say my husband's T-shirt drawer (below) was among the tidier ones.

Husband's fave Ts, all in a jumble

Here's that drawer "after."

Husband's fave Ts, all nice and neat

Here another of his drawers.  Some shirts remained flat because of the fabric. 

Husband's undershirts, activewear and sleepwear

 Here are the child's drawers.

Child's socks, undies, tops and bottoms

Child's towels and sleepwear

As for this next drawer, you can probably tell to whom it belongs based on the overall lack of color, graphics and prints 😜.

Wait a minute... my stuff needs ironing???

Not bad, eh?  We love our "new" drawers and are now KonMari converts! 

Warm C.R.O.P. Salad

Today's lunch featured onions and bell peppers from the garden. 

I sliced them up and cooked in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Was initially going to eat the above with grilled chicken and cheesy broccoli rice, but the plate looked sad and boring.

So I tossed everything with chopped greens, making a warm salad with chicken, rice, onions and (bell) peppers.  Much more appetizing, and healthier as well!

Mini Paper Shredder

For the longest time, disposing of old documents which I no longer needed was such a chore, especially when they have personal information in there such as my address, credit card or bank account number, etc.  Though identity theft isn't as rampant here in the Philippines as in the States, one cannot be too sure. So I would have to tear up the portion of the document with such personal info and make sure the torn up portions would end up in different trash bags. Which is why I hated the chore.

I knew I wanted a paper shredder but I didn't have the space for one nor was I willing to buy one, as those I would see in office supplies stores were too expensive and were either battery-powered or needed to be plugged in.

Then last March, I found this nifty little thing. Now disposing of old credit card bills is a breeze.

Comes with the usual warnings: do not insert anything metal, do not insert your fingers, and do not insert your kids. :-D

Popcorn Taste Test

From our recent grocery trip at Landers saw different kinds of popcorn, and they all looked yummy. I'm excited to try these!

Veggie Garden

To keep things simple, let's consider as vegetables all produce mentioned here even if some are technically fruits. 

In this corner of our backyard is my husband's veggie garden.

He is growing tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onions and cabbage.

bell peppers are further to the right; onions are in the ground

Here are, almost literally, the first fruits of his labor.

And here is the side salad that went with dinner last night.  I took the largest tomato and the largest cucumber in the photo above; added 1/3 Vidalia onion (store-bought; the onions in the backyard need another week or so to grow), 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper to taste; and chilled the salad for 15 mins before serving. 

Terrific Totes

Since 2009, the two-tone totes from Lands' End have been our canvas bags of choice.  They are sturdy, available in dark colors (great for hiding smudges), and made with multiple pockets for easy organization.

We have a M zip-top, and L and XL open-tops.  All are used regularly for shopping (particularly grocery shopping), road trips, days at the beach, and visits to grandma.

XL open-top with: snack, books, thermos, ipad mini, sunblock and baby powder in pockets; lunch bag containing milk and yogurt; 16in duffel containing clothes, blanket, and misc toiletries; and still lots and lots of room to spare

After more than seven years, the totes have begun to rip and fray, likely from the weekly grocery trips.  Mabigat kaya ang milk and juice, ano?  Anyway, we took advantage of a recent sale to get new totes.  Some color schemes from 2009 are no longer available so we picked substitutes.  And this time, we had the totes personalized -- with a monogram that refers to the family rather than to any single one of us.  

 Not bad, right?  The bigger ones are going on their first grocery trip tomorrow. 

Shiok Shiok Banawe

My friends from my former company all live in Northern Metro Manila so everytime they invite for lunch, they want it to be in Banawe and the trip is so worth it.  Our favorite is Shiok Shiok which serves Malay/ Singaporean food but the owners also have two other adjacent restaurants:  Eat Fresh which serves traditional Hongkong street food and Tuen Mun Roast which serves roasts, and their specialty is the duck roast.  So it's like we're eating in three restaurants since you can cross order from the other restaurants.  Shown in the photo below is a hotpot dish, prawns in cereal, salt and pepper pork and fried dimsum.  We had more dishes but we really don't want others to know how much we ate!  :-)

Something I've Been Wanting To Do

Finally found the courage to do this -

I am writing to express my interest and intention to apply to teach a business class for the 2^nd semester of Grade 10 Xelect.  The business class I have in mind touches on the practical side (vs business management theories)  – basic concepts of business (business plan, setting up, profit, costs, investments, etc), how a real business is run, possible challenges, etc – culminating in the fruition of their business plans/ideas, through a bazaar maybe.  The class I envision is not a typical lecture setting, but one where the students can drive the discussion by asking questions they have about business in general, their family businesses, or whatever businesses they encounter or are interested in.

I am currently working on a module for this course, which I hope to present to you when completed.  

Signed, sealed and delivered, so no backing out!

In the meantime, I need to continue doing research, work on the module, and consult with teacher friends for their words of wisdom.  I have never been a teacher in a classroom setting, except helping my classmates with Math in high school, which was xx years ago.

My #1 fan in this new endeavor is my son A.  He encouraged me, and continues to do so, saying he knows I'll be a good teacher, judging from how I explain things to him.  Hope he's right.

Wish me luck!  

Frozen Treats

Ours is an ice cream-loving family.  Regardless of the time of year, even in the winter, our freezer will always have at least four pints.

Right now, there are eight... and as I write this, I am debating whether to have some of the delightful Kulfi-Pistachio Cardamom on the top left, or the divine Caribbean Coconut (a family favorite) on the bottom left. 

Of the various commercially available brands out there, I have a special fondness for Talenti.  It is relatively economical, its flavors are delicious, and its containers can be repurposed like so: 

Nuts atbp in Carrefour

 
    It was our last shopping day in Dubai and so we went to Carrefour.  Look at all the mixed nuts on display !  

   There was a variety of dried herbs too :

      Had the figs and plums for snacks: 

I wanted to bring home the orange capsicum.  

 

There were lots to see but due to customs restrictions, I only bought snacks for the day.

But seriously, one of the best ways to get to know a place (and to find cheap meals) is to visit their grocery/supermarket.   Make it a point to visit one on Day 1 ( or Day 2) of your trip.   

Neon art

    Saw these pics from two years ago.  Somehow, it reminded me of our crayon etching (scratch art) project in grade school.

The Superhost

Congratulations to dear Regina who is now an Airbnb Superhost!

According to Airbnb, Superhosts provide a shining example for other hosts, and extraordinary experiences for their guests.  Superhosts need have an account in good standing, and over the past year, must have:

• Hosted at least 10 trips
• Maintained a 90% response rate or higher
• Received a 5-star review at least 80% of the time they’ve been reviewed, as long as at least half of the guests who stayed with them left a review
• Completed each of their confirmed reservations without canceling 

More power to you, Girl!

Backstory

Viber presents: the story behind this blog.