Treasure Jar

The news about flooding in a town near where my parents live did not seem real to me as I only see what happened on TV. I saw photos too taken by my brother.

I do not know who live in those homes that have been wrecked by running waters. If only they have Glendale apartments to go to, then I think they could feel safe from the raging waters.

But as it is, the water spared no one, big grand homes, small shacks and even schools. How vulnerable we all are from natural calamities.

If only… they dredged those silt and lahar deposits a long time ago? Perhaps this would not have been as destructive as what happened, but even that thought is water under the bridge now 🙁

Tags: flooding, homes, water, Zambales

Tomorrow.

Definitely tomorrow I will resume my daily morning rounds of walking/running around several blocks in the neighborhood, roughly amounting to 3k.

I have been missing out on the action for several weeks now. Either I still have to sleep or I have to rush doing something work-related.

Excuses. Yes, these are excuses.

While at it, maybe I would even thought I need Kettlebell to add more action to my otherwise boring routine.

Excuses. I will not run out of it when I know time is ticking along and soon I may not even have time to find an excuse.

Skin irritations. Itchy eyes. Sneezing. Wheezing. Red spots on the skin. Runny nose. Scratchy throat.

These are just a some of the symptoms a person suffering from allergies experience. It is a terrible state to be in. I know because I have allergies and I suffer through itchy eyes and sneezing.

We do know what causes allergies and allergic reactions: food, outdoor allergens like dust, pollen, and molds, medicines, skin irritants like clothes, animals, insect bites and/or insects.

It is easy to identify these allergens but it is quite difficult to avoid being allergic to these.

So we ask: How can we avoid getting these allergic reactions?

Share your best allergy tips by writing  a comment in this post. Three winners will win a special Del Hypoallergenic Fabric Softener gift pack each.

Promo runs two weeks from publication of this post.

Tags: children, Del Hypoallergenic Fabric Softener, health

Walking birds in this other entry.

Here is a photo of a fun and colorful toucan balloon, taken from a party of an extra-ordinaire party organizer/friend/”kumare” Kim.

Ooops! Major blunder, wrong URL in the photo. Anyway, photo IS still mine, lol.

Sorry son, had to blur that wonderful smile on your handsome face 🙂

Here is another photo of the said party in this post.

Continue Reading »

Tags: balloons, children, family, Philippines, Photography, toys

Home cooking is not only inexpensive but it sure guarantees safe handling of food. Home cooking is also a way to be creative in preparing healthier choices as compared to food prepared elsewhere.

If only most of our meals are prepared at home then I know we are eating better than the alternative.

Being creative in the kitchen enables one to experiment with different tastes, textures, flavors and adaptation to what is readily available in the kitchen.

Here is one alternative food preparation we did recently, introducing our homemade chicken shawarma:

Thinly sliced chicken strips (from chicken breast fillet) with oyster sauce, a bit of light soy sauce, and a little muscovado sugar, were cooked in olive oil.

I seasoned with salt and pepper.

For the vegetables, I sliced green bell peppers and cucumber (I removed the seeds). Lettuce is still very expensive so I skipped that.

For the dressing I used light mayonnaise.

I then topped these with grated cheese and voila, a homemade chicken shawarma for us.

The wrap consisted of store bought wheat soft tortilla wrap.

Yes, it was ‘sawrap”!

Tags: cheese, chicken, cooking, dining, food, food and dining, food photo, healthy eating, home, Photography, Purse Strings, shawarma

I got an sms from my brother asking us if we can go home to the province as soon as possible. Apparently, our granduncle or grandfather, married to a grandaunt (our blood relations) has been getting weaker and is bedridden.

Brother said he can still recognize people and in fact, he calls my brother with his (bro’s) pet name. Hmmm…

“Lolo O_ _ _” we call him. He used to work in an American military installation (where my father used to work too) but had to retire early due to a disability which rendered him unable to hear without hearing aid. He filed for disability appeal and won. He uses these regular amounts getting sent to him to pay for visits to the ear doctors.

I really hope we would be able to go visit him the soonest possible.

Tags: family