ganyan talaga ang buhay lagi kang nasasabihan
pagkat ikaw ay bata at wala pang nalalaman
makinig ka sa ‘king payo pagkat musmos pa lamang
at malaman nang maaga ang wasto sa kamalian
(its not time to make a change,
just relax, take it easy.
you’re still young, that’s your fault,
theres so much you have to know).
~~~
Ang mga ama sa aking buhay DITO.
Florida shares the same tropical climate as the Philippines (it’s summer all year long!), which isn’t surprising why many of the fruits that we have over there are more or less also available here.
However, if there is one fruit that’s always in our home, it is the Cantaloupe, or simply “melon” to us Pinoys.
My daughter and I have a lot of fun with melon. Sometimes we make melon balls, melon strips (which my daughter also calls melon spaghetti, thanks to the handy dandy coconut scraper), or just make them into simple cubes which we would top with ice for a little extra refreshment, like the one pictured below.
Lamiiiig! (i.e. Cooool!) 
~~~
This is my first entry for Lasang Pinoy Sundays (LaPiS). If you want to join us, please do visit its homepage HERE.
I was hoping to be able to have a nice family lunch to celebrate Father’s Day, where Ninna could have fun while hubby and I actually get to eat real food at the same time. Of course, fast food joints such as Burger King and McDonald’s were out of the picture, even if they did have great play areas for kids.
Here’s what we had from their menu.
Freshly squeezed lemonade for Ninna.
To go with her penne pasta with butter sauce and parmesan (with bits of brocolli sneaked in there).
I had the chicken pesto panini with a mountain of fries.
Hubby had the grilled chicken sandwich.
Our dessert: a huge brownie sundae, the best way to celebrate and cap the day.
Aside from the cost of food, there’s a $14 entrance/playground fee for kids (parents and teens are free). From the amenities alone, I think the fee is a little steep. I guess, this is supposed to cover the ambiance, the cleanliness, the good service, and the helpfulness of the staff - which were all wonderful.
Anyway, my daughter had fun (and ate all of her yummy pasta!) so it was all good.
~~~
COOL DE SAC
5701 Sunset Drive, #355
Miami, FL 33143
(305) 446-1686
First visit rating: 2.5 out of 5 for food. 4 out of 5 for the kids’ activities.
~~~
Thanks for viewing the cafe part of our weekend at Cool De Sac, Coral Gables, FL.
The play part of our weekend HERE.
More weekend snapshots HERE.
When I was still a kid, I remember that my mom used to sweep our carpets and rugs with a broom. Yes, you read that right. She literally swept our carpet with a broom, one that’s made out of bunched up dried coconut leaf sticks (which we call walis tingting in our country). Admittedly, it did the job quite well. When asked, my mom said that using our vacuum cleaner was difficult - first she would get a headache untangling the messy electrical cord, then she’d strain her dainty muscles to lug the giant sucker out, she would then get a migraine from the loud whirring sound, and then an even bigger headache once the electric bill arrived. It was also a bane for us kids because after she finishes sweeping the carpets, she does not allow me or any of my siblings to step foot on her carpet or rugs - at least not for two or three days. She cursed our old vacuum cleaner to high heavens, and I shared that sentiment - mainly because we couldn’t hang out in the only room that had warm carpeting and the TV.
Fast forward to now, I know that my mom would definitely appreciate the new Dirt Devil AccuCharge Stick Vac and Hand Vac. Aside from the fact that it uses 70% less energy, it is also the first cordless cleaning technology to earn the Energy Star approval.
Thank you Dirt Devil. You would make my mother and mother earth very happy.
image from neimanmarcus.com
Aren’t they cute? For the Y-Mail Clutch you can choose black or white patent leather to go with the gold postcard-script embossing. The Y-Mail Tote on the other hand only comes in gold leather with black postcard-script embossing. Only YSL can make something so wal-marty look (and cost) so chic.
I really really love it.
Thank you Yves (+), our beloved fashion icon, for leaving such beautiful legacies. May you rest in peace.
(Read Saint Laurent’s obituary via CNN HERE.)
After I wrote my earlier article about poker, my husband found it rather surprising that I was interested in reading online poker blogs. Actually, he found me browsing a poker blog, or rather a pokeriblogi, which was not even in English! He found that a little weird (but in a funny sort of way, of course). Anyway, I told him that he was the one who got me interested in poker in the first place. Besides, this particular game of cards transcends language barriers, doesn’t it? All I had to do was translate the page via google and, voila, instant ideas on nettipokeri!
For those of you who are not familiar with poker, Wikipedia explains it as a type of card game in which players bet on the value of the card combination in their possession. The winner is the one who holds the hand with the highest value according to an established hand rankings hierarchy, or otherwise the player who remains in the hand after all others have folded, or made a bet that was not called.
Ever since I watched Chris Moneymaker win the main event at the 2003 World Series of Poker (WSOP), I was hooked on the game. I guess it was his victory that sparked the huge worldwide interest in poker (including mine). Imagine, he was an accountant by profession who successfully won a seat into the main event of the 2003 WSOP through an online poker card room!
To me, that represented a win for the little guys – the ones who dream the big dream of winning in the big leagues – who may or may not call poker, pokeri.
As an avid poker fan, I do like browsing online poker blogs. Although I do not necessarily play the game myself, nor have I played poker online yet, I really am interested in reading about the various strategies employed by players, their extraordinary skills, patience, and faces, too, as well as the amount of money up for grabs. Truly, the game fascinates me.
One blog that I recently came across with is RWSOP.com, a poker blog which covers bankroll progress, theory, strategy and playing advice. It also gives a summary of online events, tournament schedules, various poker news and history. One of the things I appreciated about the site is, it reminds readers about gambling responsibility. For instance, the blog tells its readers that a virtual Poker Room, which is quickly becoming a dangerous craze, is still a gambling site despite it being played online. That even with casual gains or losses, knowing when to stop is the key. Great advice, right?
So anyway, if online poker is your thing, then take the time to read up on the game. And that is not a bluff.
kumapit ka kaya
sa akin nang ikaw ay
maitangay sa kalayaan ng ligaya
tayo na tayo na
~~~
huwag na huwag mong sasabihin
na hindi mo nadama itong
pag-ibig kong handang
ibigay kahit pa kalayaan mo
~~~
Kalayaan para rin sa kanila DITO.
We gave in to our sweet tooth last weekend and got some churros.
Eight sticks for 3.95. Not bad.
Cinnamon and sugar, yum.
Ant magnet. Not a neat idea when snacking in the car.
It was good while it was hot and probably better with warm chocolate dip (which I forgot to order an extra of). Next time, we’re going to try the Big Mania, the ones with the chocolate (or caramel, or strawberry, or guava, or etc.) filling in them, yum.
~~~
CHURRO MANIA
At The Food Court
Pembroke Lakes Mall
Pembroke Pines, FL
(305) 418-9050
http://www.churromania.com/
First Visit Rating: 3.5 out of 5
~~~
Our que sera sera weekend HERE.
More weekend snapshots HERE.
Call me Hana Tanryoku, (I think) it means Flower of Courage and it is the name I would choose if I should star in my own action-packed manga movie such as Bleach the Movie, which is showing in theaters for two nights only on June 11th and 12th. Unlike the main character, Ichigo Kurosaki, whose name would mean “First Guardian” or “He who protects”, my chosen name is much more feminine and yet it hints of bravery, very much like me in real life.
Advance purchase tickets are available now by entering your zip code in the “Find Theatres” box on the Bleach the Movie site or at the box office of selected theaters near you.
