What’s in your PSP?

It’s been so long since I found a PSP RPG game I would love to play. I’m not too fond of the games made by Ubisoft, Prince of Persia was confusing and difficult for me and my son, and any game that we both can’t finish is thrown out or archived. I love the graphics on this game and so far, we’re enjoying it. I cant tell you much about the game yet, because Gabby spends more time playing it than I do. But since this would be our first time to ever play Assassins Creed…it looks really great for a PSP game

Mac and Me

Photo by Andrea Vascellari on Flickr

Guess what fell of the tree? Huz came home the other day with a big white box strapped on his motorcycle. He had swapped his  sleek black laptop for a pre-loved white macbook. I eyed it suspiciously. I generally dislike gadgets or things that I didn’t buy. It looked okay, but I hated that it didnt have a laptop bag that went along with it. When we got our laptop, it came along with a sturdy bag that I would often lug around to the mall when we didnt have internet at home. Now this one just sat there on the table…a dull boring white piece of equipment. And it didnt help that Huz was all excited about it that he didnt even kiss me when he got home…hmp!

I didnt want to use it, sure I liked taking crazy pictures on it at first, but after a while I got tired of it and went back to my trusty PC. Huz wanted me to try it out, but I refused. ..until I gave it a go last night.

I didnt like that it didnt have the office applications I was used to. The desktop was confusing and I had to google how to shut the thing off (lol). The keyboard felt weird and my shortcuts to copy and paste is now command-c and not control-c. I felt uneasy not knowing how to navigate through it, and more than once I kept looking down for the time but had to look up at the top of the screen since the taskbar was on top.

I spent one-two-three hours doing my work on it, then I lost track of time. It became easier to handle when I grew familiar with some of the commands and it was fun!

Photo by Fintan on Flickr

I liked that it didnt have any games so I could concentrate on work. I liked clicking the middle mouse to show all the applications I had open…and I like that  could force quit firefox (oh and happy birthday firefox!) when it freezes in the middle of my work. It’s fast and before I knew it I was in love.

I still have a lot to learn about how to use it. I don’t know how much a pre-loved macbook costs but I know it’s expensive. Don’t ask me how he got it or what he had to do to get this, but I know he didnt shell out any cash for this. Someone up there must really like Huz for him to get this.

Huz had been pining for a mac since he started working at his present job. They use iMacs at work which is cool for a design company. But because it is expensive all we could do before was just drool when we pass by the apple store.  The closest I had to to an apple product was when my Papa gave me a shuffle 2-3 years ago and that I didnt get to use much. My sister has an iTouch my Papa gave to her (I still cant believe that she had one and I didnt get any), so I have resigned myself to believe that an apple product is way out of my league…it still is, I’m just grateful this came our way.

We have already named this Mac as “puti”  (poo-ti) which means white in Filipino. This is definitely something to be thankful for. Hardwork and patience really does seem to pay off.

I wonder how hard it would be to really switch over to Mac…I’m still using my PC…I still love it, but I think Mac and I are going to be great friends

Christmas Countdown

Photo by jspad on Flickr

Can you believe it? Just a few more days…36 days to be exact, and it’s Christmas!!!

I love Christmas because it’s cooler here in the tropics. I look forward to the “Simbang Gabi” or Midnight Novena Mass we have before Christmas. I love that friends and family members who work abroad come home for reunions.

After being hit with the flood though, and with oil prices and goods sky rocketing this holiday season. I feel it would be better if we celebrated this Christmas with less spending on decorations and think more about sharing what we have to kids or families who are still trying to recover from the flood. I feel it is our responsibility, for those of us who can give, to really help out the people around us who need it the most.

Back when my husband and I were renting a small room in Cebu, our Christmas feast consisted of a homemade ham I made myself, Filipino-style spaghetti my husband made, a nice bottle of wine, cheese, a big chocolate bar and a can filled with chocolate chip cookies. And this was cooked using a small rice cooker and a small electric stove. Cooking inside the room wasn’t allowed, and it was good that the people in the next room wasn’t there when we were making these It was a simple feast but we loved it because we made it ourselves.

This Christmas would be our first Christmas in our house. We already have a Christmas tree with only some lights as decorations. A Santa poster hangs outside our door, and my son and I made a red Christmas stocking to hang on the stairs. (Since we have no chimney) I have to make two more for me and my husband.

Christmas doesn’t have to be too expensive. What is important is being grateful for what you have and passing the love around.

A Song for Papa

I was eight or nine years old when Papa left to work abroad. I didn’t understand what that meant during that time, I only knew he’d work in Saudi Arabia, a country I never heard of before. My sister was just four or five then, and she didn’t understand why our father had to work so far away. She was sad for awhile, but like any child, she got over it and became used to our father coming and going every other year.

I missed my father the most because I was always the one who went with him when he was jogging, or when he swam at the public pool. He took me out to Hello Kitty shows and bought me toys after going to church on Sundays. When he left, I held on to the things that we loved to do and things that reminded me of him…and that was music.

One thing that I would always remember about my father was his love for music. At an early age I grew up listening to the Beatles, Queen, James Taylor, Kenny Rogers and Bobby Vinton…yes I sang to Bobby Vinton’s Dick & Jane My father bought me a small guitar or ukelele and I would wear is Ray ban glasses, strum my guitar, and pretend I was a country singer.

He introduced me to Filipino Folk/Country Artists . Everyday we had Florante, Asin, Freddie Aguilar, and  Coritha playing on our bulky stereo. Music brought him closer to me, and even when I joined the choir to sing at church, I sang for him. The only thing I wished was for him to see me perform on stage, but he was abroad and we didnt have video cams in those days.

I’m all grown up, with a family of my own, but when I listen to the old songs, I feel like I’m a child again. I remember I would step on his feet and hold tight to his legs as he paced back and forth when he sang along with his favorite records.

Now this song is from Coritha called Sierra Madre. In the Philippines, the Sierra Madre is a mountain range located in the north-eastern coast of Luzon island. It starts in the province of Cagayan in the north and ends in Quezon in the south, just east of Laguna de Bay. My father’s province is in Quezon and this is one of the songs that remind me most of him and my younger days in Quezon. Here is a song for you Papa…I love you so much!

You can also enjoy the other playlists I made in youtube at this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/thumbbook1

Comfort food for the tummy and soul

Living in the tropics, you get the usual monsoon rains, but last month the Philippines have been battered by 3 raging storms Ketsana, Parma, and Lupit (in the Philippines their names are Bagyong Ondoy, Bagyong Pepeng and Bagyong Ramil respectively). The Philippines especially the people in the island of Luzon is still reeling from these storms. Everyone is trying their best to get back on their feet again, and help each other.

This is a video of how the first storm hit our place, at 3:26 of this video, you will see the damage done near our place in Pasig. We live real close to Marikina City and our place was waist to chest deep in flood water.

 

We maybe badly hit by the storm, but everything seems so much better with some hot soup or “sopas” as we call it here. Working on what few ingredients I have in my pantry, I made this milky soup that my aunt and cousin from Montalban (who were neck-deep in flood when Ketsana arrived) shared together, as we exchanged stories of what happened when the flood rose. This is a one-pot soup I learned to make while watching my mom in the kitchen.

Simple Sopas

250 g. Macaroni Noodles

2 tbsp butter

2 medium-sized Onions, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

125 g ground pork

1 cup leftover chicken, shredded

1 cup vienna sausages, sliced

1/2 cup milk

1 liter of water

2 pcs. chicken bouillon cube

1 tablespoon habanero sauce (optional)

salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. In a big casserole, saute onions and garlic in butter. Add the ground pork and allow the meat to brown a little. (I usually add in a dash of pepper here because I love how it smells)

2. When the meat is all done, add in the vienna sausage and chicken, and stir a little. Turn down the heat and try to remove some fat rendered by the ground pork. Add in the milk and stir. Then add in the water. Give a little stir, and then turn the heat up. We need this to start boiling so we could add in the macaroni noodles. (Sometimes I cook the noodles ahead of time, and set them aside so I can add them later, but I had only had this one pot to use and the relatives were coming so I had to do this quick)

3. When the soup is boiling, add the macaroni noodles and stir occasionally to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add the chicken bouillon cubes. and habanero sauce (optional) Let it boil for 5 minutes then turn the heat down and cover the casserole. You can add in more water if you want. Season with salt or pepper.

4. When the noodles are cooked, you can start serving.

This would be even better if you could add in some carrots, celery, and red & green bell peppers. But we had none at that time, so we had to make do of what we have.

Eating this soup, and talking about what happened was really comforting. The warmth in my muddied kitchen, the conversation and smell of the soup in the air, and knowing your tummy is all warm and full really makes you feel that everything will be okay. We braved the pouring rain to go to mass later that evening. I prayed to give thanks, to pray for those who suffered like us, and also prayed for strength that our country can overcome all these trials.

There are different ways you can make soup. And here are some of them courtesy of Foodista.

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Many Filipinos still need help right now. Please if you can, send a little love to all these displaced families. You can send the donations to Worldvision foundation. Manuel L. Quezon III is a celebrity advocate for Worldvision. I trust him esp. since he is related to my former boss Sir Nolo Quezon-Avancena. Let me just quote what he said about Worldvision Foundation:

I can vouch in behalf of Worldvision that donations that are made listed for the Relief Operation Fund will go to the typhoon victims. Please remember too include this note in your donation.  All monetary donations must be accounted for in order for it to be used immediately and for the purpose it was made.  Unaccounted donations will float in the account unused for 6 months so please indicate all cash donations for the Relief Operation Fund.

DONATIONS TO WORLDVISION DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION INC.

Donations in kind are welcome & can be sent directly (door-to-door) to their Quezon City Headquarters in

WORLDVISION DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION
c/o David Liban
389 Quezon Avenue corner West 6th Street,
Diliman, Quezon City Philippines

Please send an email to wv_phil@wvi.org or call +632 3727777 to inform them about this donation including all the details of the shipment and you will receive a letter of acceptance will be given as well as proper coordination.

Worldvision will make an inventory of the donations and coordinate directly with the DSWD for declaration as well with the local government units (LGU) for distribution.

Those abroad who wish to send in monetary donations to this organization are also encouraged in order to avoid the hassle of shipping.  This is a Christian, private and credible organization that uses up only 6-8% of annual financial contributions for administration expense while the rest goes to beneficiaries.

To know more about Worldvision Dev’t Foundation, you may check out their website.

For monetary donations made through bank deposit, instructions are listed on this page.

For online donations to Worldvision, click here for the online form.

Pine nuts leaves you with a bitter taste

I love making Pesto! I love it in pasta, over toasted bread, and even in chicken recipes! I just couldn’t get enough of it. To make pesto, all you need is parmesan cheese, olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, and pine nuts. However, I just recently found out that pine nuts can leave a nasty bitter taste in your mouth!

This is what I found from wikipedia re: Pine nuts

Risks of eating pine nuts

The eating of pine nuts can cause serious taste disturbances, developing 1-3 days after consumption and lasting for days or weeks. A bitter, metallic taste is described. In general, a minority of pine nuts on the market present this problem. Though very unpleasant, there does not seem to be a real health concern.

This phenomenon was first described in a scientific paper in 2001.[6] Since the article, experiences of the phenomenon have been reported by hundreds of people worldwide (US, Canada, South Africa, Finland, Iceland, Germany, Ireland and many more).[7][8]

In the US, most of the pine nuts available in the markets, come from China, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Vietnam, and Korea. It actually takes a while for these products to get here and the reason why these pine nuts leave such a bitter, mettalic taste in our mouth is because they have already gone “bad” or “rancid”.

I don’t know about you, but why is it when there is a food scare, “China” always seem to be right smack in the middle?

You can’t tell just by looking at the packaging if the pine nuts you have are already rancid. Some have eaten or snacked on pine nuts, but suffered no ill effects, but there are some who do, and the numbers are growing.

The good thing about this is that this bitter taste dissapears in a few days.

For some it may take weeks for the bitter taste to disappear. One known alternative to dull this bitter taste is by slowly drinking tomato juice. Just let the tomato juice stay in your mouth for a few minutes before you gulp it down. It may not completely wash away all the bitter taste, but it won’t be half as bad as it was.

If you still want to make pesto, but can’t use your pine nuts. Other alternative include, walnuts, peanuts, or almonds. Here is a recipe from Foodista using walnuts:

So be ever vigilant when you eat outside.when buying pine nuts, read the packaging carefully, or ask your grocer where they get their pine nuts from. There is no report yet if eating pine nuts can be deadly, but better be safe than sorry!

Watching movies for free

When Sunday comes along all I want to do is just relax, put my feet up, and drink some ice cold martini while Huz is busy firing up the grill…ahhh that’s life!

But what actually happens on a Sunday is cleaning the house, planning and scheduling next week’s work, going to church and getting the laundry done…*sigh* if there is one thing permanent in every household it’s laundry! Don’t you just wish we had self-cleaning clothes?

Now when all the work is done. We do relax. Sometimes it means going on a road trip, especially when the weather is nice and sunny. Or, we just lie in bed and watch some movies online for Freeeeee!

Thanks to my twitter friends I discovered this site where I can watch some really great films. I’d like to share the sites with you.

First is Justin.tv

I’ve been on Justin.tv since March 2009. I can keep abreast of what’s happening in NY by watching the local TV channels there. I can get a preview of the coolest video games as the players broadcast their game. I can watch movies, stand up comedians, and documentary films too. Just last night, I watched GI Joe…although I didn’t enjoy it as much because I didnt like GI Joe when I was young…it’s a girl thing.

The other site I go to is watch-movies-links.net

You can watch the latest movies here and they have a great selection of documentary films too! Last night I watched the Orphan and it really scared the beejeezus out of me! It’s one of the best scary films I watched in a long time! I also watched the documentary of BBC called Meerkat and it was so wonderful! The children would love it! Timone from Disney’s Lion King is a meerkat and I love him!

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. And while you’re watching a movie at home, here’s a drink I’d like to share to all of you. Cheers to Summer!