My 13 lucky fruits

As 2008 is getting close to an end and 2009 is just only few hours away, I have already my 13 types of lucky round fruits on the table. It is a tradition in the Philippines from the Chinese to offer 13 types of round fruits to bring good luck and prosperity for the year. Having been brought up from a family that celebrates the New Year by preparing 13 types of lucky round fruits back in the Philippines, I carried it with me here . I never miss to prepare 13 types of fruits every New Year. It has been part of our New Year celebration since the time I arrived here. My husband just doesn't mind and never asks at all, yet, very supportive and helping me out with the fruits. Lucky, this time that I found all the 13 types of fruits in one shop close to where we live. It didn't take us long to buy them as there were only few people at that time.

Swimming with my sister

To give the kids a bit of excitement as the long summer holiday season is on the air, we went out for a jaunt to their auntie Ethel's place (my sister) in the lower part of the Blue Mountains on the first Monday of the school holiday. Since they both love the train ride no matter how close and far it is, I decided to give them a treat and took a train going to my sister's place . We had to get up early for the train ride going to my sister's place takes more than an hour even with some limited stops. I was glad it was a fine day with blue sky. I am always conscious when it comes to the weather in the Blue Mountains for they always have the coldest temperature with snowfall sometimes on winter . It was our first train ride going to the Blue Mountains. The kids were so excited as the scenery that we passed along was quite different going to the city which David referred to as like a rain forest.
When we arrived there, my sister and her little girl were already in the station to meet us. The kids were delighted as was my sister and her little girl. We went to the shops, strolled around and bought something for our lunch. As the mercury nudging to 30 degrees , me and my sister decided to take the kids to the swimming pool. Although, it was just an alternative plan if in case the kids were getting bored and if the temperature will go up. That's why I didn't miss to take our swimming suits, towels and sunscreen with us. The kids yipped for joy when I told them.The pool is just a walking distance away from where they live. When we arrived there, I noticed we were the first one to be there and found a good shaded spot with picnic table and chairs. There were only few people in the pool on that day and I was very glad for it wasn't crowded. The kids enjoyed it and I had to peel them from the water for lunch especially with David. He just wanted to stay in the water and was hooked in the kiddies pool where he found friends.
When the sun subsided a little, I started packing up and even though, I loath to say it, I admonished the kids that it was time to get ready for home and happily they obliged. It was a great day and we went home before the rush hour started in the afternoon and the train might be crowded by then. When we arrived home, hubby was still sound asleep and didn't notice that we already arrived even if the kids were quite noisy talking about our trip. Hubby sleeps in daytime for he works on night time. He must be very tired not to notice the kids noise.

On Christmas Day

Even though I had only few hours sleep the night before Christmas Day, I still managed to wake up early. Late that night, I was still packing some pressies for the kids. The kids went to bed late so I had to wait the time when they will be sound asleep so I can finish packing the additional pressies for them freely without interruption. I had to stuff also their big stockings with toys and lollies. Besides all of that, my oven was going on for I had to bake some of the desserts that night, for the following day my oven will be fully booked with the roasting of turkey and pork. However, even Dorothy went to bed late , yet, she didn't forget to leave Santa a treat, cookies, a glass of milk and carrots for the reindeer and placed them in front of our doorway . Since she started school, it is always part of her Christmas celebration to always give a treat to Santa the night before Christmas.When morning came, me and hubby woke up early and I played Christmas songs in our DVD player. Despite the music that was going on loud enough to be heard, the kids were still in their dreamland so I had to wake them up so they can open their pressies. I was just so excited and can't wait to see the reaction of their faces..hehehe.. The moment i called their names in the hallway, they quickly got up and came out groggily from their room rubbing their eyes. I heard Dorothy muttered few words that she was already late. The night before she went to bed, she wished she will be the first one to be in the Christmas tree to check out what Santa had left for them.
The kids loved all the gifts we bought for them and were quite happy. The gifts that we haven't get a chance to install are the Wii and their bikes. I know they are so excited about it but with the new train set that hubby installed for David it took up most of his time today. We have also to do packing for our weekend away down to the Southwest of NSW early tomorrow. Our Christmas party with hubby's family falls on the 28th. We all know that is a bit late from Christmas Day, yet, that will be the only time where everyone is free. And besides someone in the family is celebrating a birthday so it would be a double and big celebration for us.
So, I'll be off for few days and have a nice weekend.

Dorothy's 10th birthday

Dorothy celebrated her 10th birthday last December 17. It was just a simple celebration with our close family members. Last year, we gave her a birthday blast and invited most of her friends in school, relatives and friends. Yet this time, we decided not to have a big party for her because the week before we were so busy of some personal things and commitments that needed to be attended right away and there were David's party and graduation (not on the same day), the Annual Excellence School Assembly and school Caroling, all in the same week of her birthday. With so much happening the entire week, I felt a sheer exhaustion already that I cannot handle a children party on the weekend. Hubby really wanted a party but looking at the backyard which was a total mess after days of rain and gusty winds and the food to prepare were too much after a busy week. I just wanted the weekend to be peaceful and quite for us and prepare the house for the coming Christmas celebration.

Even though it was just a simple celebration yet she was so happy. We gave a small treat to all her classmates in school, even some of the teachers and their principal joined with them. I specially made chocolate cupcakes for them. She came home with a few words from the principal that I am an excellent baker and she was so proud of me..hehehe..it pleased me to know of these hearty compliments, I'm glad they all enjoyed it.

A Gold Medal for this year

Dorothy spent sleepless nights waiting for the day to come, their Annual Excellence School Assembly.The school notified the parents of the children who were going to receive any awards so they can make necessary arrangements from their work or any other commitments so they can be present for the big day. It was unexpected that Dorothy would get any award, but when we got the note from the school, we were completely surprised. The note told us that it should be kept a secret from the child/children that they're getting an award on that particular day. But it didn't help as Dorothy had already a clue.

Wet weather was playing and joshing Dorothy's excitement because torrential rain pelted non-stopped for couple of days including the scheduled day of the Annual Excellence School Assembly and quite chilly liked winter days. It was moved then sometime on the last week of the school year and was glad the day was very fine that most everyone was there.

David's Pre-school graduation

It was one of the most awaited event of David's school year. Everyone was so excited as well as the parents. I myself cannot wait to see David marching down to get his Pre-school certificate and the school year folder with detail of the highlights of their school year. The principal was also there who was honored to distribute the certificates accompanied by their teacher. The kids sang Christmas songs and it was so great watching them doing their best singing in front of the parents and guests.

I can't believe he will be going to the big school next year. I know it will be a big challenge and a big change for him as well as for us. I just hope he can adjust himself. He is so excited now that he always keeps on asking about it. Next year will be exciting for both of them, I hope, for I engage them in an after school sport activity twice a week where most of their friends are joining too. It is free for the students and the good thing too is a snack will be provided for free as well. There will be volunteer parents who will look after them right from the end of the school time until the end of the sport activity. I am looking forward to this as well and see how it goes.

Cupcakes for David's Party

This is what we contributed for David's Pre-School Christmas party. I just bought a Bite-size Strawberry mini cupcakes mix, easy and quick to make . I cant think of anything else to make so I went off to the shop for a rescue. I baked it myself. And as a finishing touch, I decorated it with pink icing and bright sprinkles to make it more appealing and alive. Everything came together in the pack mix as well as the mini cupcake cases. Though, we were only required to bring just few but I had decided to make enough for us and for the Pre-School so I ended up making 2 dozens. David and Dorothy always love cupcakes of any sort for snack and I love it with coffee.

Hubby's Work Christmas Dinner

It was once again hubby's work Christmas dinner held in one of the local club in the Southwest of Sydney and as usual we were again invited to join with them. The venue is different this year which is also quite good just for a change rather than to have it in the same place with the same food every year. Although not everyone was present but I guessed most of us had a great time. The food was fresh with a huge range to choose from where everyone will be happy. Each table had different menus from feast of roasts, Asian favourite menus, salads and soups and to the sumptuous desserts. I couldnt even decide which one should I eat first. But with the fresh sea food in sight, no need to muck around which one, I straight away tucked into prawns, crabs, fresh oysters and plump mussels. It was a buffet style so you can eat how much you want and as many times as you like. The kids had hot chips, nuggets , fried chicken and meatballs with ice cream as dessert. What a great dinner and I can't even believe how much food I consumed ..hahahaha.....

When I weighed myself in the morning, goshhh.. can't believe how much weight i put on since last night...lolzz.. I have to increase my walking time especially for this holiday season.Hmmm saon nalang ni!

Slow cooker

Slow cooker is perfect and ideal for busy mums like me or to anyone with busy lifestyle . A good and convenient way to prepare hearty meals for the whole family without spending too much time preparing it. The slow cooker is designed to produce the same results like cooking in pots and allowed to simmer for hours, full of flavors, moist and tender. However, with the preparation of the meat and vegetables to throw into it requires enough time but the thing that you don't spend most of your time in the kitchen until the whole process of cooking finish is something rewarding. You can even cook while you're at work or even leaves you the time to do other things around the house.No stirring involve. It is almost impossible to overcook in the slow cooker . Slow cooking recipes will give specific instructions indicating the appropriate settings and suggested cooking times which will vary accordingly. Most slow cookers these days come with many recipes which are interesting to try.When I bought mine, it came with few recipes for slow cooking, pot roasting and even few recipes of various desserts. There are Slow cooker recipes you can also check out in the internet. Here is one recipe that I like and perhaps you might be interested, CHICKEN IN A POT ( Serves 10-12). However, i did a little twist in the recipe for I added a can of crushed tomatoes for I love the flavour.

4 carrots, sliced
4 onions, peeled & sliced
4 stalks celery
2 kg chicken pieces
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock or white wine
1 1/2 tsp dried basil or oregano

Place half of the carrots, onion and celery in the bottom of the Slow Cooker. Add the chicken pieces. Add salt, pepper, liquid and remaining vegetables. Sprinkle with herbs. Cover and cook on Low for 6-8 hrs or HIGH for 4 hrs.

Enjoy!

Our dinner

It was nearly time for dinner and I cannot exactly decide what to have for our hungry tummy. I just wanted something that didn’t require long preparation, something that it’s quick and easy to prepare ..hmmm and something yummy too.. After doing some grocery shopping , it’s nearly 4pm when I’d finished sorting out everything . I felt a little bit tired after doing it by myself and can’t think of anything else what to have for our dinner. An idea popped into my mind, a beef sausage dinner with vegetable salad, my daughter and little boy’s favourite. So, without wasting too much time, I busied myself in the kitchen, I grabbed the frozen pack from the freezer, defrosted and grilled it . While the sausages were cooking, I started to prepare my salad. I grabbed few lettuce leaves, tomatoes, red capsicum, Lebanese cucumbers and carrots from our refrigertor vegetable vin , washed them thoroughly and coarsely sliced them except the carrots for I prefer to shred it and tossed everything into a salad bowl.And to add a little flavour, I simply drizzled it lightly with an extra light olive oil. We love pure or extra olive oil as salad dressing rather than using those flavoury salad dressings from the shops. We dont even add salt or pepper on our vegetable salads.We are used to it without any seasoning. And dinner was just on time.

Family Picture

Just sharing you our latest family picture taken last November 23, 2008.

Shot on the spot

This is fun and cool. Thanks to my friend, Adin and Claire for always remembering me. We just arrived from our weekend trip and haven't even finished sorting out the things from our trip. I took a short break to relax my back before finishing everything and I decided to sit down in front of my computer to check out what I had missed while I was away and the tag was my first encounter. I was caught up right away . hahaha... Glad I tied up my hair. I had not brushed it since we left from our camping spot this morning . I used my webcam for my digicam was still in our traveling bag.

This is the rule and hope you will have fun!

1) Take a picture of yourself right NOW!

2) DON'T change your clothes, DON'T fix your hair... Just take a picture.

3) Post that picture with NO editing.

4) Post these instruction with your picture.

So now, I am tagging all my friends in my bloggers list. Your turn to grab your camera and take a photo of yourself. It's fun!

Away for the weekend

We've been planning a weekend away for quite sometime but didn't get the chance to squeeze it into our busy weekend schedule. Yet, as the year is getting close to an end, seems our weekends slowly get to normal except for this coming long Christmas weekend and glad we are able to make it happen this coming weekend. It is not just a short relaxation in the wilderness that we are looking forward to but mainly to have a try out camping with our newly purchased second hand camping trailer. We bought it from a friend we met in the pre-school where David is. They were selling it for few thousands bucks to upgrade to something more suitable for their needs. We didn't give a second thought when we went out to see and inspect it. It was exactly something what we were looking for and still in good condition. Perhaps, it will last for a while until we are ready to get a brand new one.
Probably, this is our last camping trip before the end of the year yet we are still looking for more camping trips next year hopefully. Our destination this time is a camp site about 11 acres of quiet bushland, just off the southern exit of the city of Goulburn , a provincial cathedral city in the Southern Tablelands of NSW. It is located 190 km south-west of Sydney on the Hume Highway and 690 meters above sea levelWe will start hitting the road today right after the kid's school. It is about 2 hrs drive from where we live and should be around late in the afternoon when we will be arriving provided there will be no traffic along the way as it is the end of the week and traffics are anticipated anywhere around during this time. I hope we will be able to set up our camp before darkness engulfs the day even though we hired a powered camp site but it would be more easier for us to sort out things under broad daylight. Kids are getting excited now for this time for they always enjoy being close to nature and in the wilderness.

Catch you when I come back. Happy weekend!

Seedlings from kitchen scraps

They just started being seeds from my kitchen scraps thrown into the bare spot in our vegetables garden, completely abandoned and ignored after wards. With the help of Mother Nature after few days or so being thrown, a new beginning came out from the ground to start a new life. They are just everywhere that I even lost count, for there are so many of them. Some are just threatening to come out, some just opened up their new little leaves and some are just completely turned into seedlings that seem ready for planting.So taking advantage of it, I grow some of the seedlings that I definitely wanted in my garden. They look healthy and thriving with my constant watering every now and then to get them settled and established well in the ground. It saves our pocket from buying seedlings from the nearby garden nursery which I think the seedlings per container ranges from 3.99 to 5.99 depending on the types. I have heaps of tomato, pumpkin watermelon and capsicum seedlings that I cannot think anymore where to accommodate them as our vegetables garden can accommodate only just enough for us. I don't want it to be crowded to avoid competition which causes to slow down the growth and will not look healthy at all.
The unwanted seedlings will be definitely uprooted and thrown away very soon. There is no point of growing them for I have enough in my garden. Besides I have to get ready the empty space in my garden for the pumpkin seedling ready to spread its life anytime soon.

Fish for lunch....

I went out to the shop this morning and bought some fresh (meaning, "fresh from the container" ..lolzz..) "yellow tail" fish, a fish similar to "galunggong". I am not exactly sure what it is called in our dialect but it is something quite familiar...Although, it wasn't my main purpose to get any fish on my early trip to the shop after dropping off the kids to school but when I saw this small "yellow tail", it just popped out into my mind the idea of having a fish for lunch instead of tuna sandwinch. There are times that I crave some of our native foods, like those yummy "sinugba", "kinilaw", "tinula" and "inun- unan/paksiw (in Tagalog)", even though, I cook them from time to time here. Not to mention my craving of the taste of cooked fresh fish back in our island. That is the main thing that I really miss so much, a fish that still smells pleasantly from the sea but how we can find it in here, unless we catch our own fish..hehehe. Most of the fishes here are stocked up for a day or so with lots of ice before taken to their different destinations, the shops. We haven't done much fishing nowadays because we are all tied up with other activities that need to be prioritized.

Anyways, here are some of the things that I used to check out before buying fish, the gills (if it is red), the eyes (bright and shiny) and by touching it, if it resilient to the touch, then it is fresh. However, it is quite dearer though, but you get what is your money worth.


I bought more than a kilo of yellow tail and thought to make kinilaw and grilled some (sinugba).. And look what I had for lunch..

Lemonade Award

Yipey, I got another award from my very good friends, Wenna and Adin. Thanks a bunch for this Lovely Lemonade Award. This sure does quench my thirst right now...hehehe.. It is so refreshing to have cold lemonade on hot summer days. Our weather is getting warmer nowadays as we are officially in our Summer season. Just on time..hehehe


The rules of this award:

1. Put the logo on your blog or post.
2. Nominate at least 10 blogs which show great Attitude and / or Gratitude.
3. Be sure to link to your nominees within your post.
4. Let them know that they have received this award by commenting on their blog.
5.Share the love and link to this post and to the person from whom you received your award.

Now, I am passing this refreshing Lemonade Award to all my bloggers friends out there.

A day out at the beach

It has been quite a while since we have visited beaches around here. Weekends were fully booked with some activities which we cannot avoid and the never ending work in the house. Although, it was overcast with on and off light showers that day, it didn't stop our plan to visit the beach. It took a good drive to reach our destination, the Garie Beach which is located in the Royal National Park on the southern border of Sydney. Royal National Park is Australia's first National Park and after Yellowstone in the U.S.A. was the second National Park to be established in the world.Our first time here. Since it was late in the afternoon when we arrived, there were only a few people around. The weather was becoming cooler, windy and clouds started to build up again. I had to shout to the kids because the wind made normal voices inaudible. Despite the weather condition, the kids were having fun playing the rock pools trying to catch small fishes that were stranded in it but they had no luck at all. They made sand castles too and ran around chasing the sea gulls. We found many crabs' holes on the sand and tried our luck to dig for crabs. But seemed the holes were so deep that we cannot reached it no matter how much effort we exerted. We finally got to the point to surrender and flitted around the beach enjoying the moment. During our drive back home, a storm was very close and we were glad that we were already inside the car when the first drops of rain pelted to the ground. The afternoon was becoming gloomy and dreary.We were lucky enough that there was no traffic along the way even though it was on weekend. We arrived home just on time safely.

Getting ready for X'mas

We had promised to ourselves that our Christmas tree will be back in its normal place before December, we thought we really did a good job by finishing it right on time. Everyone deserved a good pat on the shoulder for doing a good job. Well done to Dorothy and David!! With the help of those little hands, it didn’t take us long to make it look like a Christmas tree. They did an enormous job and were so happy and excited doing it in no time than expected. It was only the Christmas lights that required my help and I thought I did a good job on it as well. But while doing it so, I eventually discovered that some of the lights were not functioning anymore when I turned it on. I think I have to get a new lights for next Christmas season and have to throw the old one away.

Our Christmas tree is the first Christmas tree we have since we got married, merely simple and an old one, nearly 10 yrs old about the same age as Dorothy. I remember I bought it few days right after Dorothy was born. I never give a thought of buying a new one for it is still in good condition and looking good over the past Christmas seasons. Most of the decorations too were bought the same time as the Christmas tree. We never get bored of its appearance every Christmas time. I have already bought Dorothy and David’s Christmas presents last October and just kept it out from their sight for the time being that we didn't have the Christmas tree yet. Now that we have the Christmas tree, I grabbed a chance to wrap it so I can display it together with the Christmas tree. The kids were so surprised to see it with speculations and implored what are the presents about. With seemingly endless questions that I couldn't evade, yet all I can say to them is just wait and see on Christmas. That eventually settled down further interrogations from them.

I still have shopping to do for Christmas presents for the kids in both hubby and my side as well as for our Noche Buena. I am planning to do it sometime this week and to be done with it before Christmas. Our family Christmas party for this year will be held in one of hubby’s children. That is something that we are looking forward to as almost everyone in the family will be there. A good chance to see and catching each other once again on time of the holiday season.

WE WISH ALL OF YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR..

My snack

Here is my snack today, sab-a bananas with "guinamos" ( Visayan fermented small white fish and salt pounded to a paste and has a little sauce). I could not swap this to anything you offer for snack. I just simply love bananas with"guinamos" as dipping especially with a bit of chili and calamansi on it. But it's unfortunate this time that is not a calamansi season here yet, so I could not have any for my "guinamos" dipping but as long as it has chili, still fine for me. I could eat as far as I could stomach with this type of snack. lolz. Kids find the "guinamos" atrocious so I have to eat it alone on the table and that's the good thing too with this snack, nothing to worry for competitors at all in the household...lolz. I got the sab-a bananas from the Filipino shop, frozen and just microwaved it. I have a good snack that appeased my loooong craving for a while.

Boiled sab a bananas with guinamos is a typical snack in Cebu. The sight of this brings back great childhood memories which are deeply embedded in my heart. Back in my hometown one of our neighbors had bananas in their backyard and during harvest time, they didnt miss to share some around the neighborhood which we enjoyed for afternoon snack with guinamos to punch with it. Spending time swimming in the beach with friends on weekends would not be complete without bananas either with guinamos or "buwad" (salted dried fish) or even "kinilaw" (raw chopped fish pieces cooked in vinegar with spices). I still can recall too that every visit to our Lola, bananas were right on the table for our snack and a sack half full of bananas ready for us to take home. Oh..how I miss those times!!!

Father and Son

Last Saturday was kinda a father and son day out. Hubby and David watched Thomas and friends: "The Great Discovery" movie which is showing on weekends from November 8 in selected Hoyts cinemas in NSW, WA, SA and QLD. They are both devoted Thomas and friends fans. Of course, me and Dorothy were invited to join with them. Although, I was loath to decline the offer but I really wanted time of my own and I thought that was a perfect opportunity without David with me. Dorothy found the movie quite drab to her as it didnt fit to her liking and had no choice but to go with me...lolz.We went together to the mall but we separated ways when we arrived there as I had also some other plans to do. I actually wanted to have time of my own doing window shopping and hunting for the best sales I could get for some items especially that Christmas is fast approaching. At least it was only Dorothy with me for she always enjoys it too but with David it is hard as he always easily gets bored for my interest doesn't fit to his penchant and wants to wander around. Since it was a weekend, my speculation confirmed that the mall was full of people and quite a long queue to get to the counter to pay for the things I bought. It seems everyone is getting busier in preparation for the coming Christmas Season now.At lunch time, we agreed to meet to a certain spot and glad it didn't take us long to find a vacant spot where to have lunch in the food court. And as usual, the kids had their MacDonald burger and chips, I had two pieces of McDonald wrap as well as hubby with a cup of coffee. And for the last plan of the day, we went to the Newsagent to check hubby's retirement, I meant his lotto entries but still no luck yet. He has to wait for another week for Lady Luck's visit hopefully.We went home right from the Newsagent with David's constant clattering about the movie, an obvious evident of his enjoyment .

Too late...

Being presumptive at times, I felt guilty over dragging out David's intention and excitement to be in the level 2 swimming lesson for this long summer holiday (sometime on January 2009). I've been thinking about it ever since and planned to book him before November came. I thought it was still too early to make the booking sometime in the middle of the year so I waited until the last week of October. But when I rang Swimsafe to make a booking, I was disappointed when I was informed that the level two in our area has been fully booked, unfortunately, and the man who tended my call advised to book David for level 3 instead which was absurd to me. (Hmmmppp). Even though, David gained his swimming skills and confidence in the water from Swimsafe too but enrolling him for level 3 is far beyond his skills at the moment. I want him to do it step by step. Thereby, I believe he will gain more swimming techniques without rushing him and no pressure whatsoever.
The year when he did his first swimming lesson, i booked him the same time precisely and was surprised why as early as that time I rang, it had been fully booked for the summer swimming lesson. Each class size will vary from pools but generally will not exceed 6 kids so obviously, they cannot squeeze David in because of the limit. I think there are now many kids inspiring to be swimming champions in the future compared the past years..lolz..The picture above was taken during David's first swimming lesson at Mt Druitt Swimming pool. He was 3 yrs old at that time.

Well, I have to contrive something to replace what was taken out as planned for him. Maybe I would be able to come up with something new and interesting for him for this coming long school holiday.

My traditional Chinese food

These are my first Jiaozi Chinese Dumplings. My first ever attempt to make it myself and quite a challenge to me. They don't look like what I was aiming for and look quite funny with those ugly wrappers. Not that kind of dumplings you can find in the Chinese Restaurant. The wrapping process was quite frustrating. I was really having trouble with it shaping into a desired form. So, me and Dorothy ended up like just little kids playing with a play dough and Dorothy was having fun with it. Moreover, I didn't realize the dough wrapper was a bit thicker until it was cooked which made my face more crumpled over the result. But mind you, the taste was quite good. I got it all right. Even the kids loved it for dinner. Well, they were famished anyway after our dinner was delayed for over an hour because of the dumplings.

For recipe please grab it here: Jiaozi-Chinese Dumplings

Flowers for me?

Thank you Claire-My rendezvous and ibjsprinting for this beautiful flower award.

This tag is all about “FRIENDSHIP OFFERING” with someone whom you know, to someone whom you already knew or will know in the future, globally.


::: Start copying here:::

Here are the rules for this tag:

1.) Copy the badge and put it on your blog,
2.) Link back who pass you this tag,
3.) Spread this tag to at least 7 or more bloggers who you think you are friend with.

”And lovely are the blossoms
That are tended with great care,
By those who work unselfishly
To make the place more fair.
And, like the garden blossoms,
Friendship’s flower grows more sweet
When watched and tended carefully
By those we know and meet.
And, if the seed of friendship
Is planted deep and true
And watched with understanding,
Friendship’s flower will bloom for you. “

And now, I want to give this friendship flower to the ff: Sanny Ismat , Ann's World , Rose and Vic and
wena's thoughts .

Keep the flower of friendship blooming guys :)

My New Monitor

It had been for days that I had noticed strange occasional sound like cracking a seed and quick blinking in my monitor somehow that fretted me . I had not encountered such problems before and wasn't exactly sure what were those about.There were times that I reached to the point to give up and had to turn off my computer when the noise became louder. The thought that it would explode right in front of me scared me the most..lolzzz..I told hubby about it but he had to see the problems himself before concluding to anything and do something about it. And eventually, he then discovered that the problem was in my monitor. However, despite the problem I mentioned I still can used it but had to turn it off when the sound became louder especially when it was in between close intervals for I can't stand it and got a feeling that it might explode. .. lolz . The good thing was it never given up its service to me , I meant never gone off by itself . Still surviving yet struggling.. lolzz but I had to be careful and confined my usage. I was apprehensive that it would die eventually.And not until the day when hubby told me to get a new monitor that I felt a relief all over me. Hubby replaced it with LG LCD flat screen and now, I can go back to business as normal..lolzz..Thanks to hubby for his quick response of the unexpected problems that occured in my computer.

Would you like some?

This is what consumed my early hours of the morning after taking the kids off to school. I felt like to eat this particular dish, bam-i, a popular Visayan dish. It was been quite a while since I had this type of noodles which I can only have on some occasions here and I missed it terribly..lolzz.. Hubby gave a questioning stare when he noticed me so busy in the kitchen during the early hours of the morning and asked what's the occasion for why I was cooking the bam-i that early ...lolzz.. He was surprised too that it seemed I was cooking for several people when he took a glimpse in my wok ...hehehe.. Yup, I have still heaps here even though my kids and hubby don't love this as much as I do but I want to share it to some my friends who are also bam-i lovers like me..

For the recipe please grab it at filipino-food

Our new hallway runner

I stifled a smile to my myself when hubby said to me if I wanted to shop for the runner I needed for our hallway the following day in HomeBase Blacktown. It's been quite awhile since I told hubby that I really need a runner for our hallway for the reason that few of the tiles are starting to get cracks which I believe are caused by the length of their service to us and need to be replaced.We really want to replace the whole floor even though most of it are still quite good to a polished timber floor but since we don't have yet the resources at the moment that's why we settled to something quite affordable. I think this is the best option by installing a runner as protection so there is no farther damage for the time being.
The moment I told hubby about it, he didn't say anything nor made any promise. So, I just set it aside and was lulled about it since then. I never dare to ask hubby again. Saying to him once was enough. I knew he thought it over and over again especially that my purpose for it was kinda important for our house. We did a good shopping of the prices and ended up to Carpet One, Minchinbury . Although, it is not actually the particular color I was looking at but since we got a good deal of the price that was too good to refuse, we grabbed it without a second thought. It was a good bargain for the price was about one half difference compared to all the shops we've been through.

We need friends!

I know it's been to late to post this but as the saying goes, better late than never...hehehe.. anyways, thank you so much ibjsprinting for tagging me. I feel so honored and proud again..hehehe

I'm confused about tagging, been looking for my name, wahhh it's in the last portion Your next, that's why I post it so late.

As well share this meme to others. I'm tagging all my BLOG FRIENDS - keep the friendship alive.

We need Friends for many reasons, all throughout the season.
We need Friends to comfort us when we are sad, and to have fun with us when we are glad.
We need Friends to give us good advice.
We need someone we can count on,and treat us nice.
We need Friends to remember usone we have passed sharing memoriesthat will always last.
Spread the Poem of Friendship. 1. Everyday Life 2. Words of Love 3. Sheng’s Simple Thoughts . . . 4. good thoughts, good trades 5. Ours and Our Kids 6. Jengspeaks 7. Jacque 8. Snippets of My Mind 9.Melisse’s Domain 10.Seize The Day 11. Living A’ La Mode 12. Simple Delights 13. Motherhood in a Nutshell 14. Ness 15.World of Technology 16. MyDailyWebJournal 17. A Simple Life 18. Momma Wannabe 19. Everything Has A Reason 20. Republic of A 21. BeautifuL Language 22. Live Love Laugh 23. Irresistible Fascinations 24. Complex Life 25. My Oweini Life 26. Sweet Heaven 27. Moments To Remember 28. YOU

A Bronze Whaler Shark

I was in the edge of nearly forgetting this which I really intended to share it with you. Glad that I happened to check out all the images in my mobile phone and was surprised to see what I have missed. I am in the habit of taking pictures through my mobile phone but don't bother to check it out unless I am running out of storage. Yet, I reckon this is not long overdue to post this as the school holidays only just finished 3 weeks ago.

Every school holiday here, most places are jam packed with fun, entertainments and attractions in any kind just to amuse the kids. They ensure that kids are kept well entertain through the entire school holiday and the whole family as well. Kids are always busy and excited for the holiday as there are many interesting things to see and do. Well, it was just the first time that one of the popular fish shop around Sydney entertained the kids that I would say in a very unique way. It was a bit of luck that we have this fish shop (Costi's @ Westpoint) here in one of the biggest mall in our area, Westpoint Blacktown . In fact, not only the kids were entertained but as well as the big ones. I myself was one of them. For the whole 2 weeks school holiday, they had a good size 340 kgs Bronze Whaler Shark displayed in front of their shop. It was real, frozen with ice to retain its freshness and to look so naturally alive. If you don't take a chance to touch and feel it, well, you would not think it was frozen for it appeared alive to us. People were getting crazy taking glimpses of it and even touched it. Many were taking photos and of course, I didn't miss my chance too. Dorothy was so eager to stand right beside it but to David it looked as something to be scared of . He didn't even venture to touch it but he was so curious that he kept on asking endless questions about it.
It was such a good entertainment to those who were lucky enough to visit the Mall during those time and encountered up close and personal with a Bronze Whaler Shark . Although, it was lifeless but the fact that you can touch and feel it is something of a kind. I wonder what will be their entertainment the next long school holiday which is just around the corner now and the kids are looking forward to it.

Walking

Walking is the most simple, effective of all exercises to lose weight and stay in shape and maintain good health. It is considered as the the king of exercise . There are so many great health benefits that you can get by walking. The fact that it can be done by anybody without spending money is absolutely an advantage to everyone. You can do it with your love one, family or even with friends in most places, indoors and outdoors.

Since hubby needs a good walking exercise and the thing that we all share the same interest which is the love of nature, that is how our bush walking trip idea came in. It is our way to exercise where everyone can join, indulge and enjoy as well the beauty of nature. It is apparent that bush walking trips are part of our life now. Weekends would never be complete if we cannot do it unless we have something important to do otherwise or if weather is not cooperative. Kids are getting used to it even though the night before the trip, I use to tell them that they have to sleep early for the coming big trip in the following morning. So far, no complains from them yet as they are always excited to go with us. And even so, that I have to wake them up early to get ready for the trip, they are always happy to abide what they are told. That's how excited they are.

So what are you waiting for, let's get moving and go WALKING!