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 | what matters | Jul 20, 2006 |
i will have poetry in my life. and adventure. and love. love above all. no... not the artful postures of love, not playful and poetical games of love for the amusement of an evening, but love that.. overthrows life. unbiddable, ungovernable --- like a riot in the heart, and nothing to be done, come ruin or rapture.
from the movie shakespeare in love
|  | vito is now officially a big boy! yesterday was vito's graduation from kindergarten. (they still have classes for the next month, though. with twice-weekly tests!)
like the previous years, they also performed a song and dance number. their class did bollywood this year. (wehehehehe) he looked like a fat genie in his costume of gold lame harem pants and bronze vest. =)
in between the performances, the graduation ceremony was inserted. i looked at my fellow mums among the crowd and some were teary-eyed, some were actually crying full blast. me? i was choked up but was too busy with raoul to shed a tear. =)
cathie and mel were so nice to join us, and they took the pictures of the event. they also joined us for lunch later (pictures to follow). |
| | pictures taken by manuel on his iphone. i'm so sad i wasn't there, raoul woke up so really late today. vito says he was so happy he wanted to cry. =)
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wish we could be there for the party!
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| | we treated the parents to a buffet lunch on their last day here in singapore. manuel was surprisingly available for a long lunch that day, so he joined us straight from the office.
the little one was very cooperative in that he fell asleep as soon as we got there, so we were all able to enjoy the food! hahahah! he woke up just when we finished dessert. very accommodating little boy! =)
i rate marriott's lunch buffet 4 stars! the food was great, but they made us wait until exactly 12nn before we could start, so minus one star! =)
*all pictures unedited (sooc) |
| | we all had a fantastic time last saturday at julian's birthday party. julian is vito's best friend, and they had recently moved into a lovely terrace house. the games were fun and prizes were equally wonderful! they also hired a really funny puppeteer who was so entertaining and had awesome puppets.
i love how everything was planned so perfectly, and it started and ended on time. =)
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 | Category: | | Pasta | | Servings: | | 4 |
Description:
got the idea from the march issue of food network magazine. make sure to use good quality pesto alla genovese (the one with basil) -- either store-bought or homemade.
it's full of anti-oxidants and very nutritious. you can lighten it up a bit by diluting the cream if you want to. =)
Ingredients:
cooked pasta ( i used the 3-color vegeroni pasta in different shapes, about half of the pack)
1 diced boiled chicken thigh, deboned of course
steamed broccoli florets (i used up the whole head of broccoli)
a cup of sliced white mushrooms
one medium onion, chopped
1/4 c pesto alla genovese
3/4 c heavy cream
1/2 c water ( i used the water where i boiled the chicken in to steam the broccoli, then strained it and used it in the sauce as well)
olive oil
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
one head garlic, minced
Directions:
saute the garlic and onion in olive oil. add the diced chicken and mushrooms. set aside.
simmer the cream and the pesto, adding water as needed. mix in the parmesan cheese. simmer 5 minutes. add the sauteed ingredients and toss in the pasta and steamed broccoli.
serve warm.
| | it's here! it's here! my signed copy of nigella's KITCHEN is here!!!! =)
i am the luckiest person on earth to have a friend as wonderful and generous as you!!! thank you! thank you! thank you! from the bottom of my hear, thank you!
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 Description:
found the recipe in an old issue of real simple. i tweaked it a bit to suit my family's taste. manuel keeps asking me to make this again. =)
Ingredients:
4 chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs)
salt and pepper
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
1 tbsp smoked or hot paprika
2 yellow onions, cut into wedges
1 lb gnocchi (refrigerated or shelf-stable)
1/2 c fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
1/2 c mozzarella cheese, grated
1/2 c parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
heat oven to 400 degrees F. pat the chicken dry with a paper towel and season with the crushed garlic, salt and pepper, paprika. heat the oil in a large ovenproof saucepan over medium-high heat. add the chicken, skin-side down, and cook until the skin is crisp. turn the chicken and add the broth, paprika, and onions. transfer to oven and cook, uncovered, for 30 minutes. add the gnocchi, cheese, mushrooms and continue cooking until the gnocchi are cooked through, about 15 minutes. divide among individual plates, serve with rice or toasted focaccia.
 Description:
i got this recipe from (of all places) jane greene's novel "the love verb". it sounded so interesting so i tried baking it today, and by golly, it's sooo good! the texture from the ground almonds is amazing! and the orange gives it a really pleasant flavor and aroma.
you'll need a springform pan for this, but since i don't have one, i had to make do with the pan i normally use for bars.
Ingredients:
1 orange
3 eggs
1 c caster sugar
1/4 c flour, sifted
1 tsp baking powder
1 c ground almonds
1/2 c marmalade
icing sugar for dusting
whipped cream (optional)
Directions:
preheat oven to 350 degrees F. grease an 8" springform cake tin and line it with greaseproof paper.
put the orange in a pan, cover with water, and simmer for an hour (or in a microwave for 25 mins) until soft. cut the orange in half, remove pips, and pureé in food processor.
beat the eggs and sugar until pale and thick. fold in flour, baking powder, almonds and orange pureé. pour into the tin and bake for an hour.
melt the marmalade in a pan then pour thru a fine sieve, pressing to get all the juice out. spread the rind-free juice over the cake.
when cool, sift icing sugar over the cake. mix whipped cream with orange rind and serve alongside. (optional) | | we found this really nice door and thought it would be a great backdrop for the kids. take a look. =) |
was finally able to take videos of raoul walking. he's actually able to make about 8-10 steps now, although he is very cautious and likes to hold on to something every 5 steps or so. =)
Download the original: large.m4v (9.0 MB)Here's a video of Vito reading a book. =) Happy New Year lolo and lola!
Download the original: medium.m4v (37.3 MB) | | cat and mel invited us to their spanking new place at regent heights in bukit batok for new year's day. (it's on the opposite side of the island.) it was our first time to see their lovely home.
we initially planned a barbecue by the poolside, but then it rained so we had to move upstairs to their condo unit. at least vito got to swim a bit while the guys were cooking the barbecue.
here are the photos.
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| | part of the celebration for daddy dan's birthday was an overnight stay at imperial palace resort in mactan, cebu. cathie booked a suite for the weekend, and we joined them for one afternoon (our flight back to singapore was on the early morning of the next day).
the place is a bit patterned after shangrila's mactan island resort, except that it has water parks with giant slides, pirate ships, and other fun stuff for kids and grown ups too. i don't really know why they call it imperial palace, though. hehe. but it's korean-owned, so maybe they have a reason i just don't understand. =)
the kids had so much fun! the room was very nice and spacious. but there was no free wifi!!! the sky was overcast that day -- good for swimming because then you don't tan too much, but not so good for photos. =) raoul found it too hot near the pool so we brought him back to the room when vito and the rest of the family transferred to the big water park (the one with the giant slide). raoul was so happy to be able to crawl all over the carpeted floor! and then manuel gave him a bath in the bathtub so he was ecstatic. =)
too bad we had to leave by 7pm, i had to pack our bags as we were leaving early the next morning. maybe there'll be a next time? =)
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| | it finally got cold enough to wear tita lynette's gift! =)
here's raoul a few weeks ago (before we left for cebu). thanks again tita lynette!!! the hoodie is soooo cute!
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| | here's vito with his new harry potter look. =)
we found out a couple of months ago that his eyesight wasn't very good. we were referred to an eye clinic here, but opted to wait until we were in cebu to have him seen by an ophthalmologist. we went to ACES at the medical specialty clinics of perpetual succour hospital. the service was really good and the staff and doctors were very accommodating.
dr. ronald medalle (a 3rd generation ophthalmologist, his grandad operated on my grandmother's cataracts) explained what the situation was, what needed to be done, and how important it was that vito wear his glasses constantly. we are going back in february for a follow-up.
we had to wait for a week for the glasses because the lens had to be specially "processed" as the astigmatism grade is really high. no wonder he reads so slow. dr. medalle explained that at his level of astigmatism, letters are already disjointed; and shown a 10-letter word, he might not even see some of the letters. poor kid!
it's amazing how much the glasses help. they arrived yesterday and after letting him get used to it for a few hours, i asked him to read green eggs and ham. it's like a miracle happened. no hesitation this time, no more going near and far to the page. it was almost effortless, really.
thank you lola for sending the glasses via fedex!
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| | i still don't know why we didn't decide to stay in cebu until christmas. the decision to go home for daddy dan's birthday was made in a bit of a rush; and we booked the tickets without thinking things over. now we're back and we feel a bit bereft, like a kid whose balloon flew away.
but then again, we did get to taste a bit of christmas while we were there. thanks largely to mimi, who told me about the christmas village display at marco polo hotel. at least we got to have our christmas family pictures taken! the matching outfits of the two boys are also care of mimi. =)
i wish i had time to edit all the photos to make them look as magical as we felt. vito loved all the miniatures and couldn't contain his excitement. =) i was wishing for a telefoto lens that could capture the smallest details! heheh.
*the first 6 pictures are from the tree in ayala center cebu.
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it all started with a conversation i had with my sister maia several days ago. we were talking about terry pratchett and how reading his books always makes us happy. but maia went on to defend pathos in books and said that a good cry is always therapeutic, so she likes to read them once in a while. i disagreed, but for very personal reasons. growing up, i was such a drama queen that by the time i was 20 i already cried enough for 5 lifetimes! it seemed like i was crying every 4 minutes, to tell you the truth.
fast forward to today, when i only ever read books that are well-written, gripping, intelligently funny, and challenges the imagination. to make it short, nicholas sparks and i are not friends. =) i find no need for a good cry. my world is already insane enough without my adding tears to it. besides, my boys (all 3 of them) panic when they see me crying! hahahahahah!
ever since i became a mother, i felt the responsibility to stay (relatively) sane. if not for my sake, then for the sake of my sons. i have no time for drama, no time for pathos. there's already too much of it in the news, why will i look for it in fiction!? besides, i know that there are a lot more important things than my own feelings -- (i actually had to learn that, believe it or not) there's duty, and responsibility, and a lot of nurturing on top of all the little mundane tasks of the day.
so i'm done with the drama (thankfully), the soul-searching, the angst. i'd really rather stay cheerfully insane (a few sandwiches short of a picnic), just the way i am now. i'm a drama queen turned dairy queen. =)
 | say hello. no ads please | |
 | Hi Pat! Happy happy birthday to you!!! so, how were you pampered today? |
 | hi sis. affordable items at our shop.. hope you could drop by..=) |
|  Pat! Happy Birthday to you!!! i hope today was one of the greatest! =D  thanks chiara! |
| happy bday, ms. pat! thanks tin! |
 | Pat! Happy Birthday to you!!! i hope today was one of the greatest! =D |
| Pat, happy, happy birthday! thanks cat! |
| Happy birthday dearest patricia=) you are certainly a blessing to me=) thank you chelo! i miss you! |
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my favorites in MULTIPLY...a dear little sister to me! I thank GOD for you! thanks meann! my favorite adopted ate! =) |
 | Pat, happy, happy birthday! |
 | Happy birthday dearest patricia=) you are certainly a blessing to me=) |
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY to one of my favorites in MULTIPLY...a dear little sister to me! I thank GOD for you! |
 | hi sis I am selling replica bags please visit our site=) hope to do business w/ u soon..thanks |
 | Happy, happy birthday Pat!!! =D |
 | Have browsed your other sites. Beautiful, refined, artistic, both human and divine. Keep it up! If God was presented as Truth, then as Good, with your being, God could be presented as Beauty! Is it not perhaps, He is behind all in what is beautiful? |
| Pat, lapit na maging 1 year younger ka...
san tayo mag sandwich picnic? :-) |
 | advance happy birthday Pat! hope you have a wonderful year ahead. |
| Pa, check out my new site theme! he he! daghang salamat! |
| hi pat -
you've got a very nice site and i enjoyed browsing through your wedding album.
cheers,
malou |
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