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.