New Year's Eve Fruit Salad

My sister-in-law sent us an SMS asking what we’re bringing to the New Year’s Eve potluck, another in-law's family tradition. I replied “our beautiful selves.” Her answer: “your beauty is good, but we need food.” LOL. Told her we will bring fruit salad. And here’s how I do it:

2 largest can of Del Monte Fruit Cocktail (I'm sure fresh fruits' yummier)
6 – 8 tetra pack of Nestle Cream, chilled
1 medium-sized can of Diamond Shelled Walnuts, chopped coarsely
1 – 2 biggest pack of marshmallows (I usually get the flower-shaped ones from Makati Supermart, I forget the brand)
2 pack Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese (just sliced into small, thin cubes
1 medium-sized can Carnation Condensed Milk
Confectioner's Sugar

Open cans of fruit cocktail and put on colander, 6 – 8 hours (the longer the better).I usually do it overnight so it will be well-drained.

In another bowl, put in chilled cream, mix together with condensed milk. If it’s not sweet enough for you, just sprinkle in some Confectioners sugar, until it reaches the desired sweetness.

Place the drained fruit cocktail in a big container bowl, fold cream on top, mix gently, so you won’t crush the fruits. Add the cream cheese, marshmallow and walnuts (don’t put everything in, leave some for topping). For presentation purposes, put in nice serving dish, sprinkle some marshmallows and walnuts on top.

If you don’t’ plan to finish everything right away, better store in the freezer first.

Twilight

When I first heard about the Twilight novels, with the young ones and young once going gaga over it, I was busy reading babycare and toddler discipline books. Now there's the movie adaptation. Our niece sent me a SMS asking if I'd like to watch the movie with her (for bandwagon effect), I said yes, but she's been pretty preoccupied with work lately so we haven't gone to see it yet. Last Saturday, our 11-year old niece, dropped by the house to play and watch High School Musical 3 with the cuddle pup. She asked me if I'd like to watch Twilight with her and I said sure, if she's allowed by her parents to watch it, why not? She went home to get their Twilight DVD and we spent the late afternoon watching it. It wasn't bad. It's something tweens and teenagers would appreciate. It was like Buffy the Vampire Slayer-meets-Underworld. My nieces think Edward Cullen's hot... well, me thinks Dr. Carlisle Cullen (the dad) is sooo hot! But of course, my hubby's hotter! LOL

Photo from MTV.com

Bea's School Christmas Party

Last December 17, Rosemont School students celebrated Jesus' birthday. Nursery was scheduled at 8:00 in the morning. It was a potluck party, and the daughter was assigned to bring pizza good for 5 kids. Good thing there's a Yellow Cab Pizza just right outside the village and they are open 24 hours. Called them up at 5 a.m. for 7 a.m. pick-up and ordered a 10" Pepperoni pizza, requested for criss-cut so the kids won't have a hard time eating it. Wanted to get to school early so she can still distribute gifts to Rosemont staff and bring her with me to office right after. When we got to Rosemont, some of her classmates were there already. Party started at 8 a.m. and ended at 9. I was just outside her classroom with other mommies waiting for them to finish. There was so much food and some mommies joined in the party. The little one got a Fun Factory Play Doh set from their exchange gift and more presents from the classmates.

When we got to the office she asked her lola to bring her to Mall of Asia for lunch, so off to MOA we went. Her granny asked her what she'd like to get for Christmas and she replied "Barbie doll house and candies!" The doting grandma got her a Barbie Doll House from Toy Kingdom but didn't tell her yet. She thought it was something else for another cousin. We just told her grandma forgot to bring her big wallet and will just come back for it, she was a little down at first, but snapped out of it when lola got her a colorful lollipop. I'm sure she'd be ecstatic when she open her presents on Christmas morning!

Bargain Hunting At Divisoria

As we grow older, the list grows longer and longer. Now it's not just family, friends and godchildren... included on the list now are household staff,officemates, neighbors, village personnel, construction workers, your kid's friends, classmates, teachers and school personnel etc. I was pretty much decided on cutting the list short this year, but changed my mind the last minute. It's Christmas! Time for sharing. Just a little something for everyone.

My sister-in-law and I have been planning to go to Divisoria for weeks. Since the  preschooler's on vacation starting yesterday, we finally had our geographically-challenged driver drive us to Divisoria. As I would normally do when I go there, we parked at the secured parking area of Tutuban Center Mall, they also have clean toilets by the way (as compared to other public toilets in the area), and walked to Divisoria Mall. Got there at 8:00 a.m., and finished at around 2:00 p.m. It was a battleground for bargain hunters! It's not as nice as Greenhills but prices are 50% cheaper. Armed with sneakers and PhP5000.00, I braved the DV crowd with my sister-in-law. Went home with my loot exhausted and with a splitting headache. But I was happy because the PhP5000.00 I had with me went a longgggg way! We even passed by Binondo for boxes, yes boxes, of fruits. Imagine with just that amount of money, I was able to get presents for 60 people. Like the Kiat Kiat (Mandarin oranges) from Binondo, it's PhP40.00/kilo vs Makati Supermart's PhP84.00 and the Navel Oranges PhP650.00/64 pc box vs PhP165.00/6 pc pack (info courtesy of my sister-in-law), I got three boxes (10 kilos/box). Now that's value for money!

I just have to go back to Binondo later for more fruits, like I said the list is long.

The Way Things Are

I'm here at the office now checking my mailbox and decided to squeeze in this post before I forget about it. The daughter's here with me for our office Christmas party later. Was on my PC when the marketing officer from one of the medical clinics we send workers to dropped by to give their presents for us. When he left, my ever curious and observant daughter asked one of our staff "Is she a boy or a girl?" It's like she couldn't believe her eyes. The staff didn't know how to answer and told her to ask me instead. He's gay actually. But how do you explain that to a three year old girl? It's a touchy topic I believe. I'm no homophobic. And I wouldn't want my kid to grow-up discriminating people because of race, creed, social status, gender...or sexual orientation. I have to be careful not to sound prejudiced, at the same time not come out like a parent with no idea of what's black or white ... or gray. From a very conservative person's view point (which I'm really not), there shouldn't really be a gray area to begin with.

When you a have a little person asking you why a boy has very long hair and why he's clothes are for girls and why he's wearing make-up... you just have to stop and think for a while before trying to explain to her. You can't just say "Hey, that's how things are babe." Her questions must be answered. I just told her that he's really a boy but he likes to wear girl clothes. Her reply "But why, mom? He's a boy! And boys don't wear make-up! Make up for girls!" I then replied that sometimes some boys would want to look like a girl and some girls would want to look like a boy. I was given another "But they're boys! Why, Mom?" Of course, I couldn't really give her a full explanation as she is still too young to really understand stuff such as this one. I just simply told her that when she's older she will understand why and how different we all are from each other. Different strokes for different folks.

One thing struck me though, she was just observing QUIETLY and asked the question AFTER the guy left the office. She didn't just blurt it out right in front of him. I guess at her tender age she's beginning to understand what's proper and what's not. In time her knowledge will grow and her views may (or may not) change. As long as it's within the norm, as dictated by our faith and beliefs, or that which are socially acceptable, then I'm okay with it. If she says boys shouldn't wear make-up and dress like girls... then let's respect that. It's her two cents. We are all entitled to our own opinion.

Tender Lovin' Sunday

The husband, the daughter, the nanny and I went for a little ride around town yesterday. Since we needed to check out something at Ortigas Home Depot, we decided to spend our Sunday in the city. From Alabang, we went straight to Greenhills Shopping Center to go around a bit and have an early lunch. As expected, parking was almost full and shopping area was swarming with Christmas shoppers, good thing we were a little early. The daughter and I waited at Krispy Kreme Doughnuts for the dad to park the car. Grabbed some doughnuts for us while waiting, snowman with red licorice for my chooch, Reese’s peanut butter and chocolate for the big boy, and original glazed for yaya and me. We went around first, checking out the goods, fifteen minutes into it, the dad and daughter started grumbling “we’re hungry, mom” So off to Promenade we went. We wanted to try something new, we saw Tender Bob’s. Well it’s not exactly new, but it was our first time to try it out. Ordered onion rings, baked mussels (you must try this dish of theirs, it's sooo yummy), gambas (not spicy for the little one), beef salpicao (medium-well), rib eye steak (the hubby ordered the 10 oz. “starving” portion, medium-well), mixed veggies, mashed potato with gravy and rice. Meat is local but they were really oh so tender and tasty. We were so stuffed after, we didn’t have anymore room for dessert! Except for the little one, who finished her food and behaved well so she can have her snowman doughnut. Service was good, food’s reasonably-priced and yummy and they even give out balloons for kids. I would go back there anytime.

After our hearty lunch, we went to Ortigas Home Depot for the slates, stayed at my lolo’s house for a while to visit him and my mom (dad and daughter both had Cornetto Ice Cream while daughter was playing on the treadmill), then we went to the Home Depot at the Fort after… just to look around for more construction stuff. So pooped after our little excursion, the little girl was asleep all the way home.

Watching the Krispy Kreme doughnut machine at work.

Broda and Sista

One time, I was brushing my teeth, the little girl came up to me saying “Mom, I want a broda.” I’m like “Huh?” She then continues “And a sista!” Then her imaginary brother started staying with us in the room for a while, and silently slipped out after a few months. Now she’s at it again. We usually have our “pillow talk” before going to sleep at night. Well last night, I was telling her that maybe when we move to the new house she can start sleeping in her own room already. Then she said “And my brother will stay in the other room…and my sister, we’ll play in the attic.” She’s just so eager to have siblings. I think because she wants to be an “ate” (Filipino word for big sister) already. She has her cousins for role models. They really take time out to spend time with her playing, malling or just simply chillin’ at the house.

If only it were that easy. We were just so lucky and blessed to receive that little bundle of joy as a special gift from God. She is our answered prayer. It was all out trying for us from the day we got married. On the 3rd year of our life as a married couple, she came along as a surprise blessing. And we’ve been pretty preoccupied with her since. After the house, we can start looking into trying again. The hubby and I are quite happy with one but it would be great to have more kids, if God willing. Two to three more, perhaps? Twins would be nice, now that’s probably asking for too much. But who knows? With lots of prayers and some medical help, I’ll have a bun baking in the oven soon.

Bea at 2 months with cousin

Bea at 3 months

Christmas Callos

Got a SMS from my sister-in-law last week, asking what we’re bringing to the Christmas get together at their house? It’s the family tradition. So far there’s turkey (I’m guessing from Palm’s Country Club) and lechon (Lydia’s?). Remembering my long ago promise to our our godmother (wedding), I volunteered to bring Callos (Tripe Madrid-Style). Now this is also one of the hubby's many favorites, there was a time he’d ask me to cook callos every week. But we just had to stop, because it’s not really healthy. For an occasional treat, it's okay. And this is how I do it:

1.5 kilos Ox Tripe (I get the packed ones from S and R), sliced bite size
8 pieces Spanish Chorizo (also from S and R), thinly sliced (diagonally)
Green Olives, whole,pitted
Black Olives, whole pitted
Green Peas (I just use the frozen ones from the grocery)
Red Bell Pepper, cut into thin strips
Green Bell Pepper, cut into thin strips
Garbanzos (optional, Chuck doesn’t really eat this so I don’t use it)
6 Heads Garlic, chopped
6 Medium sized Red Onion, chopped
2 largest foil pack of Del Monte Tomato Sauce
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
McCormick Italian Seasoning (mixed dried herbs)
McCormick Black Peppermill
Laurel leaves
Soy Sauce (I like Silver Swan, it’s tastier than the pineapple brand)
Salt
Brown Sugar
Red Wine (I just use any bottle we have available, real wine. Not those cooking kind)

To prepare the Ox tripe and Spanish Chorizo:

Wash very well under running water. Put in a pot with water and some salt, then bring to boil under medium-low heat. Let boil for about 30 minutes. Turn off heat, throw away water, repeat the same steps, this time using one of the greatest cooking invention ever…the pressure cooker! (The chefs out there might be saying hey that’s cheating! Cause traditionally, you cook callos under medium-low fire for hours and hours and hours. But hey, we’re busy people you know, we still need to do other things. So just use the precious pressure cooker.) Wait until the top part starts wiggling then start timing it, 40-45 minutes should do it. Turn off the stove. But NEVER open the pressure cooker or remove the topmost wiggling thingy immediately after. The content will explode right at your kitchen. Just let out the steam first, slowly raising (not removing) the wiggling thingy every now and then, until pressure’s all out. Then put tripe on strainer and slice them in square/rectangular bite size.

Heat a big wok-like pan, or anything big enough to hold everything (you'll be using the same pan later), when it’s hot enough, put a little water and the whole Spanish chorizo. Let it cook. When there’s no more water, add a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil to fry it a bit. Remove chorizos from the pan, slice it thinly, diagonally. Set aside.

Back to cooking callos:

Using the same pan, add a little more Extra Virgin Olive Oil then the garlic, onion and let them cook for a few minutes. Then add in the tripe. Season with pepper, Italian seasoning, laurel leaves, soy sauce, brown sugar and around ¼ cup of water so it won’t dry up. Let it simmer for a few minutes. Add red wine (not too much, the goal is to make it yummy, not to get yourself drunk!). Don't put wine after cooking, you actually add it WHILE cooking. Simmer a bit, then the Spanish chorizo, green and black olives, green peas and tomato sauce. Simmer again for a few minutes. Check the taste. If it’s too salty, just add a little brown sugar and water. A little more wine, perhaps? You know, just adjust to your preference. I never use MSG in my cooking; I just substitute it with a little sugar. Just let it simmer some more, then turn off heat. Immediately put the green and red bell pepper on top, then cover it so it’ll cook a bit.

Again, it serves 18 and more. Big, foodie group. Just let them adjust taste with soy sauce or pepper. But you know what really goes well with this? Balsamic vinegar! Just a few drops to make it sing.

Another tip from Ima: never scrimp on the ingredients and let it cook first before adding the next, to bring out the taste.

Photo courtesy of southbound.ph

Bea's Merry Little Christmas

Most likely because of the world economic crisis we're experiencing now, or maybe it's just me... it doesn't really feel so Christmassy this Yule season. Even Makati's Central Business District (CBD) is not decked out as the years past. Usually after Halloween business offices in the area start rolling out holiday decors... not this year. Save for a handful of buildings, it's just Ayala Avenue that's pretty much into the season, courtesy of Makati City taxpayer's money hee hee (or should I say hmph!?).

My daughter came home from school singing holiday tunes last week. She told me that they watched Hi 5 Christmas Special in school that morning and that she'd like to have a snowman in the house. Told her she has her little tree from last year and we'll just put it up again for this year. Like furnitures, we do not have our family Christmas tree yet since we will be moving to the new house pretty soon. Thinking of just getting some styropore from National Bookstore so we can make her own snowman. The other day my mom called me at my mobile just to say that she talked to her apo (grandchild) and Bea told her lola she didn't have a tree yet. Yesterday morning, my "official" day off, I finally got around to putting up some decor at the house for some Christmas feel and waited for Bea to get home so she can be the one to dress up her little Christmas tree. Getting off the car, she already saw the wreath on the door and her stocking by the window, and I could hear her giggling excitedly from outside, shouting "wow, I love it!" Asked her to wait until after her afternoon ballet to decorate the tree together.

While she was napping, I took the opportunity to go to National Bookstore for some gift tags and an Elmo book for her school exchange gift, and then went to South Supermarket to get some pancit malabon (a noodle dish from Malabon City, Philippines) and fresh lumpia (shredded fresh veggies wrapped in pancake or rice paper wrapper) for the hubby's sister. When I got home my sister-in-law was already there chatting with the little one who was just waiting for the driver to bring her to the club for ballet. SIL and I went to Verdana, she wanted to see the house, and we went house hopping after. The cuddle pup was already home when we got back, eagerly waiting for us.

We decorated her little Christmas tree. After wrapping all her present for her classmates, she then signed her name on the gift tags...all 15 of them! She can now write her name without having to copy from a "pattern" or an adult spelling it out for her. Just wrote a post-it note to her teacher, requesting that she be allowed to personally give out the presents today. Nursery party is on the 17th, after their Quarterly Evaluations. She will start getting presents from Santa Claus on the 16th. A tradition we started last year. Just a little something until the “big” day. Simple stuff like lollypop, jellyace, juices, items less than PhP30.00. Last year it was so funny, Santa “forgot” to get something to put in her stocking… she received a box of Champorado (chocolate rice porridge)! At first she was just staring at it, probably thinking "What's up with this guy?" Then we were all like "Oh, wow! You got champorado from Santa! Wow! That’s so yummy!” And she went “Wow! Champorado! I love champorado!” LOL. Last year, she got a big Play-Doh set. She said this year she’d like to get a “bigggggg” (that’s how she said it) Bratz doll from Santa.

I have not done any shopping yet, the presents for her classmates were supposed to be her giveaways for her 3rd birthday (couldn't find Precious Moments party stuff, so I changed the motif to Disney Princess…after getting those activity books. Hey, they were on sale!). Won’t be doing much shopping this year though. Budget’s pretty tight. Our priority is the house. Just a little something for everyone. Now I’m slowly beginning to feel Christmassy. The little one's excitement rubbing off on me.

Setting up her tree yesterday

This was from last Christmas

Tomato Soup

I just love Cibo’s Pappa Al Pomodoro or simply known as Tomato Soup (Tuscan style). On one of our many potlucks at my in-laws’ home, my brother-in-law, suggested that I just prepare soup as there were other viands already. I’m like, what kind of soup shall I make? I was thinking…then Cibo’s tomato soup came into mind. So I got ingredients from Makati Supermart and cooked my first ever tomato soup. I cooked it the way I like it and they liked it...well that's what they said (I don't know if they were just being polite or something). I would serve it every now and then, since. The way I do it:

2 kilo ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeds removed and diced
3 heads large garlic, finely chopped
3 heads large red onion, finely chopped
1 medium-sized can Del Monte tomato paste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2.5 liters Beef or Chicken stock (your choice really, I like beef. If you don’t have the real thing you can use those commercial broths instead, like Knorr cubes)
Fresh Basil leaves, hand-shred
Dried Basil leaves (McCormick)
Bread croutons
Salt
Pepper (McCormick Peppermill)

Heat soup pot over medium-low heat. Add in Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and onion. Cook for a few minutes, stir occasionally. Put in the tomatoes, crushing it a bit, then season with salt, pepper and a little dried basil leaves. Add the broth and increase heat. Bring to boil. And you’re done. (You may add or hold some ingredients as you wish. Like if you want it more tomato-ey add more tomatoes or tomato paste. Or more broth if you find it too tomato-ey. Ouido, remember?)

Serve in soup bowls, preferably the shallow ones. Top with parmesan cheese, bread croutons, fresh basil. Let them adjust taste, just pass around salt and pepper.

Fast and easy, huh? Serves 18 or more. Hey, It’s a big family. So I am used to cooking for a group. Just do the math, if you’re cooking for a smaller group.

*image from liketocook.com. Will post own photo once I cook it again.

The Ouido Chef

I am not the professional chef in the family. My brother is. He graduated from Center for Culinary Arts (CCA) Manila and is currently working at Heat Restaurant of EDSA Shangri-La Hotel in Mandaluyong City. But I enjoy cooking as much as I love eating. Got it from my lola, I believe. Tip from Ima: when you’re eating something, look at it, “feel” it, savor it… so you’d know how to cook it. I’d prepare food for my relatives every now and then but I started real food preparation when I got married. The hubby's family is sooo into food! Home cooked and resto stuff. Thank goodness for helpers, cause as much as I enjoy cooking, I am not too thrilled on doing some “pre-cooking” process… chopping onion and garlic!

My cousin also suggested, when we were talking about me blogging, I should share some cooking recipes. It’s taking me a while to write about it because like I said I’m not really a culinarian and when I cook, I don’t really follow recipe books. I get ideas from them, yes, but I’m more the cook-by-taste-bud kind. No exact amount of this and no exact quantity of that. Know what I mean? It really depends on who I am feeding. Like if it were for Chuck, it should not be too salty or sour. If it were for my mom, she’s so into salty, sour and spicy stuff. That kind of thing. So when I start sharing my recipes on-line, I’ll be mentioning brands and other stuff, but don’t expect me to put the “exact” quantity of ALL ingredients. I will just explain it as it is, no fancy, technical culinarian terms. If you have questions, just feel free to get in touch with me.

Beginning To Look More & More Like A House

Hey, everyone! House construction's coming along great. Roof undersheeting will be ready by Wednesday, Stone 2000 will be delivering the materials for installation of CPAC Monier roof tiles within the week and will start working on it as soon as possible. The Vignet uPVC windows are now being fabricated and will be installed most likely by January of next year. Long holiday for construction workers will start on December 22, I think. So these coming days, we'll try to finish as much work as we can. 


Progress photos as of 07 December 2008:

Coolness!

Split or Window type AC? Now this is another debatable topic. “Go split” you’d say. And who wouldn’t? It is said to be quieter than its predecessor, the window type, since its condenser and compressor are separated from the evaporator and blower. It’s very sleek, aesthetically appealing and you do not need a big “window” for it. Just a teeny hole for the copper wiring. Downside is the lowest Horse Power available in the market is 1.0 and it’s pricier than the window type. The window type is the tried and tested kind, less expensive and you can get one with 0.5 HP.

The husband and I have been discussing about the kind of air conditioning unit we’ll be using in our new home. We have to decide on this before the second coat application of our exterior wall paint. As I really do not want to see those uneven map-like thingies on our walls. I specifically told our architect and the contractor that no pipe or wiring should be seen, including the AC drain, so they’re all embedded. For the Master’s bedroom we will be using 1.5 HP split type, as there’s really no place for a window kind in this part of the house. The exterior wall finishing on this area, facing the corner, will be the “highlight’ of the entire house, with slate cladding, picture window, etc. The floor area in Bea’s room and the guest room is not big, so a 0.75 HP window type unit per room will suffice. For the attic, which will be the family room, a 2.0 HP split type is recommended. And as he would want to have the ground floor air conditioned as well, a free standing (floor mounted) split should be used as the area is big. This free standing unit will be placed in the pocket-door closet, initially intended for storage, in the living room.

Last Friday the surveyor from Carrier arrived and checked out the house and gave some recommendations, we weren’t at the site then. Originally, we wanted all outside units for the splits to be at the rear area of the house. The surveyor said it’s too far from the indoor unit, thus may result into early conking out of the AC’s. He would like to put the them on our precious highlighted area! No way! So I’m meeting with him again with our contractor on Saturday, to check out other possible location for the condenser/compressor.

Of course, I did some googleizing about air conditioners. I checked out chat rooms and blogs as well. They're practically the same in energy efficiency and maintenance. The big difference is really just the look and the price. Choosing the right AC unit is not really that hard. Just think about what you need, the space, etc. The best thing is really to have the surveyor come to the place where you'd want it installed, so they can make proper suggestions. They usually do this for free, just coordinate with your local vendor. We usually get our appliances from Abenson. http://www.learnaboutairconditioning.com/ gave me an in-depth information on this topic.

Man's Bestie

Our dog Napoleon turned 2 last November 26. Originally a present to my pa-in-law from the hubby's sister, this Labrador Retriever has been in our care since he was 3 months old, since we used to stay at my in-laws’ home. When Pa passed away, Nappy (as we fondly call him) moved with us to the townhouse. He stays with us inside the house, but we tie him up because we really wouldn’t want any accident with Bea, as you can see he’s very muscular and when standing on his four legs, he’s big (thanks to Eukanuba). Like any other lab, he is very playful and energetic and has literally dragged his handlers several times when he’s “chasing” or excited about something. This guy is very gentle and affectionate to humans though and he still has his “puppy-eyed” look even if he’s an adult dog already, even his vet at Animal House Alabang, Zapote (his cousin Cappuccino, my brother-in-law's German Shepherd, goes to the same clinic) says he still acts like a puppy. To know more about dogs check out http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/.

Caring for this breed is quite easy, a bit expensive though…bigger dog--bigger stomach to fill, bigger coat to shampoo, vaccine and meds (monthly maintenance) volume depends on dog’s weight. I’m not complaining, just stating facts in case you’re looking into bringing home one. Here are some of the stuff nappy uses to stay healthy and gorgeous-looking:

*Eukanuba Adult Large Breed Formula (Dry), we alternate Lamb & Rice and Chicken
*Lambert Kay’s Fresh ’N Clean Oatmeal and Baking Soda Shampoo
*Virbac’s Enzymatic Toothpaste in Vanila Mint Flavor
*Pedigree Denta Stix
*Heartgard – for prevention of heartworm disease
*Frontline drops or spray for flea and tick control (best way to prevent this is not to let your pet “socialize” with flea-infested animals.

We usually get the “personal hygiene” stuff from Animal House, but for food and other things, they’re cheaper at Canine Depot (near the terminal at ATC). A regular visit to the vet should be observed. More importantly, a loving home will do wonders for any pet.

Bea and Nap

Maki-baka!

On my way home from the house construction site yesterday we came across an amusing sight... a herd of cows taking a leisurely walk along Daang Hari, slowing down other motorists. It was like a scene from Gary Larson's "The Far Side."



For the non-filipino speaking readers, "baka" is the filipino word for cow. Now you might be thinking, are they moving to the province? Technically, the answer is yes. As the village we're building in is an Ayala Land (Community Innovations Inc.) project in Molino-Bacoor, Cavite. No longer part of NCR (National Capital Region). It's not that far though. It's like 10 minutes away from Alabang commercial area via Daang Hari, just behind Ayala Alabang Village. It's that strip of road connecting Alabang and Molino. Should you wish to view all Ayala Land developments click on www.ayalaland.com.ph.