These Days

I have not been busy in the kitchen lately because we have delegated daily cooking duties to our househelp.  She's been great at planning the weekly menu, doing the groceries and preparing the our food everyday.  We've allowed her to try new recipes as well.  Because she likes trying new things in the kitchen, I thought that it would be a good idea to start baking regularly so we can both learn together.  Eventually, I will let her have free reign on the oven.  Rich and I believe that it's important to give our househelp increasing/different responsibilities so she keeps learning and does not get bored. Anyway, the point of this post is that we baked a cake yesterday!  It's Devil's Food Cake, pre-mix from Maya.  I wanted to start with a really easy one first, so we can test our skills.  Neil said it was yummy.=)  It was just ok for me, a bit dry.  I will research on moist chocolate cakes next.  This will be fun! Finished product Pre-mix for beginners!

The last movie Rich and I saw was The Hobbit back in January.  Neil's last was Cars 2 in 2011.  Going to the movie theater 2x in a month almost never happens to us but June broke the streak.  Rich and I watched Man of Steel on June 16 and Monsters University with Neil and church friends on June 29. Man of Steel was at the new SM Aura in BGC.  It was free, sponsored by IHG for Celebrate Service Week.   Thank you, IHG!   The best parts of the movie for me were the scenes showing the relationship between Clark/Kal-El and and his Earth-ly and Kryptonian parents. From:  http://www.hdwallpapersimages.com/man-of-steel-movie-2013-poster/7269/ Our friends from church invited us to watch Monsters University last Saturday.  We were three families in all.  We had to mall-hop from Glorietta to Power Plant to get seats for 13 people.  Neil was covering his ears for the first half of the movie because he said it was too loud but he adjusted later on. Fun movie! From:  http://d

It's my birth month!  I decided to do a photo-a-day challenge again, following the daily prompts from FatMumSlim .  I will be adding pictures to this entry as the days go along. The final count for June: 27/30.=) ********** June 30. Handwriting June 28. Red June 27. Into the Sun June 26. Empty   June 25. Sharp . Sharpie? =) June 24. Negative space . Pag walang maisip na subject, si Neil ang default. June 23. Last . Don't be the last one. June 21. Lunchtime . What I saw during lunchtime.  I want a guitar. June 20. Cute June 19. Currently Reading June 18. Street June 17. Centered . Birthday cake. June 16. Family .  Happy Fathers' Day!

The Ayala Triangle Gardens is one of our family's favorite places in Makati.  I love parks, trees and greens, open spaces, a relaxing atmosphere and this is as good as it gets in Makati.  We were there on 3 separate occasions in a span of 1 week.  We brought Neil's bike twice, taking advantage of the space.  I was jogging alongside him and had a good workout, too. Spot Neil!

Makati has banned the use of plastic !  I remember this was announced last year but they had to give ample time for businesses to find alternatives so it was implemented only on June 20.  We were at Cash and Carry on Saturday and they are now recycling boxes for groceries.  We have been bringing our own reusable bags so this is not an adjustment for us but I appreciate that more people will now do it, albeit forced.  We were in Alabang during the weekend and this has been implemented as well.  I am all for it. Plastic, once touted as the best invention of the century because of its versatility and durability has become so ubiquitous and the waste products are now unmanageable.  We now know about the great Pacific garbage patch  and the some of the consequences as chronicled in the Midway Project by Chris Jordan . This broke my heart... This issue that has resonated with me long ago is even more important now that I'm a parent.  We have a responsibility to examine our choice

With the family in Iligan

I celebrated my birthday last week.  As always, I feel truly blessed.  I did mommy duties (hatid/sundo), worked and then had coffee withe Rich to cap off the day.  Simple lang.  Nothing out of the ordinary except that I was feeling extra thankful.  Thank you, family and friends.  Thank you, God, for this life. On my birthday, I saw this on my desk.  Thank you, IHG friends! I also had mini-celebrations throughout the week. We had lunch with Marie and John after Neil's football class on Sunday.  This meet-up was a surprise to me.  I thought it was a cool coincidence that they stepped inside the restaurant but Rich secretly arranged for them to meet us. Good one! On Sunday afternoon, our Friday VG met at the Ayala Triangle Gardens for picnic and impromptu pakain at BonChon.=) The June birthday girls then treated the whole team at work for snacks/dinner on Friday. Then we met our good friends for lunch yesterday.

Neil's 4-session  football clinic ended on June 16.  The organizers might do another round, which we are looking forward to, as it has been really good for the kiddo.  He gets tired, sweats, follows directions and actively plays with other boys. Pushing and kicking Footballs Water break Aiming for the goal Heading! Thank you, coach! Go Team!