Pamilihang Sentral - local supermarket

last weekend we decided to buy some days supply at the Pamilihang Sentral in Dasmariñas. the kids tagged along too. i was kind of happy that time, because its been so long since we've been there and because all of us went!:)...

this was taken infront of the palengke, it is a lot bigger than this picture suggests

the local supermarket's aisles, there are a lot of stalls

from this stall we bought one whole chicken, the kids love to eat fried chicken, don't know why...

charcoal stoves made of cement and recycled oil cans were also on sale. we have one too. we use it when hubby cooks bulalo or when we have to cook the meat longer, and of course for grilling.

a lot of locals use these charcoal stoves

another stall sells these charcoal stoves which were made of metal

we bought some eggs here

at the back of the main palengke (market) is an extension, a lot of stalls are there also.

the market's extension, more buyers go here than to the main market (just across that street), maybe because the place is more airy, and the goods here are fresher

the vegetable section at the annex

my daughter took this photo, we were standing between the fish and vegetables section at the annex waiting for her dad

hubby choosing what to buy at the fish section

comfort food for tired feet and gloomy weather

hubby and i went to Quiapo earlier this year (yeah!, this post is a bit late, hehee) and like the hundreds of Quiapo shoppers we looked for a place to eat, to ease our growling stomachs!

so serious? a bit hungry, heheee...

i am not that adventurous when it comes to choosing where to eat. i prefer to be safe than to worry later! so we choosed Chowking a local fastfood. that resto specializes in noveau Chinese food. hubby wants to eat some hot noodles and i want a large glass of black gulaman (black jelly juice, tastes sweet and refreshing) so we agreed on eating at that resto.

our lunch

hubby's order

i choosed the braised beef and rice meal, 'coz that meal is familiar since my college days while hubby who loves pansit (fried egg noodles with some meat and veggies) ordered noodles with pork wanton (fat egg noodles with wanton in thick soup).

my braised beef looks as if it's n attacked! heheheee...

i decided to finally post our quiapo jaunt 'coz of the balmy and cold weather, which we are experiencing now...

Solsona - brooks sing in my town

Its been so long now since I last visited the place where I grew up. From my relatives’ stories it seems that a lot of infrastructure projects has changed the town.

I love the morning breeze and the fog that envelopes the town and its barrios. Bucolic. Sounds old and a bit corny but for me — that (!) is the right term. (How long it will last, that, I am not sure).

A cousin gave me copies of some photos that I’ve been asking from her. I was awed when I saw in some of the pictures that fog still envelopes the town in the early morning. The air at such hour is so cold, very fresh, your exposed extremities get numb and you may even get the chills. It is at this hour that a short dip in one of its rivers or streams is best. The water may be cold but it totally refreshes you and gives just the right shot of adrenaline to power you up for the day! The water that nourishes the town flows from mountain streams. In some places you can still dig holes beside riverbanks, let the water settle and get clearer, then you may drink the water from your small well right there. The water tastes sweet and refreshing, yes, it is still clean.

The people in my town are very hardy, more so the barrio folks. They farm well and they know how to make use of their environment efficiently. They gather freshwater shells from the rivers and stream. They cook these into unusual but yummy dishes when fish is hard to catch and the harvest is low. They may use kaingin in their farms but they plant trees not only for subsistence but also for shelter. I believe that an increasing number in migration and global influence are somehow causing a difference in my townmate’s ideals. A lot of them are in a hurry to catch up with the rest of the world. Some are not aware of the grave consequences that their efforts to improve their lives has produced.

I feel sad when I last visited my town. The town may have progressed into one of the most progressive towns in the whole province of Ilocos Norte, but sadly the landscape has changed.

I get emotional whenever I am in the open field. I love open spaces. I love breathing in the fresh air, more so of my town. I love to look at the green fields, the meadows, paths criss-crossing streams into the woods, wide rivers whose waters turn from crystal clear to green and to deep blue. Brooks sing in my hometown, the sound of the water sound like melodies to my ears. I get so happy just by gazing at streams slicing farmlands, even in irrigation ditches and canals (built by the local government and a Japanese construction company). If you are an outdoorsy person you will understand what I am trying to say here.

I love how nature is in my town, I just hope that the quarrying, illegal logging, and other practices that are accelerating its environmental destruction will abate. I hope that the local officials or NGOs will see to it that the town’s natural environment be saved. I am hoping too that reforestation and saving the water sources, as well as saving the river shorelines from too much dredging and quarrying be given immediate consideration, before it’s too late...

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artsy

I always encourage my son to do whatever I think will help him choose whatever path he chooses once he reaches that stage. When he was just a toddler, I encouraged him to watch kiddie shows, clapping and laughing with him to make him more curious of the show on TV. I believe that kids watching kiddie shows like Sesame Street, will think and act smarter. I believe that these shows stimulate the kids to think and learn to analyze. Some may have different opinions. But hey, that's my opinion, and I believe that in my son it paid off.

He likes to draw and his drawing surprises us sometimes. You would think that somebody at least five years older than him may have done the drawings. In fact he won in the art contest during Nutrition Month at his school. His drawing of a family living a healthy life won him the first prize! His price? I asked him what was his prize and he said ,"...an apple." So I asked where was it, he calmly told me that he ate it right away 'coz he was hungry!

He is also into molding different clay figures. He molds figures modeled after Pokemon characters and other cartoon characters, and whatever catches his imagination. Here are some of the clay figures he did on a lazy Saturday afternoon.

I can't figure out this one, I guess he just molded whatever idea came up

This too, I am not sure if this is a bug or something

Yep! A donut...

A clay replica of his pet goldfish

passing by -- Asia World City!

When I passed by the Pacific Avenue on to Macapagal boulevard near Mall of Asia – one of Asia’s biggest malls, I noticed that on weekends (it was a Saturday when I passed) the vehicular traffic is moderate at around 1-2 in the afternoon. A lot of empty large lots are still up for sale in that commercial zone.

Buildings and businesses are popping out like mushrooms.

But there is one area that sticks out like a splinter – the Muslim area—I call it that way because of the mosque erected as a last ditch effort (some people think) of former squatters to keep their stake on the land (prime property at that and may cost millions. Something that none of them would even think of buying at the current market price.)

oops! sorry I was riding on a bus on my way home when this was taken

Baclaran is just across the (National Highway) road. The land’s location is proximal to Baclaran and may have played a big role in the fomer squatter’s decisions to stake their claim on the land.

The government is spending lots of tax money in improving the reclaimed area (the bay once hurls its waves at the sea wall now canal wall that skirts the Asia World City.

first pizza!

My son just turned a year older last August. He requested for pizza, but my schedule did not permit us to go to his favorite pizza place. So I decided to buy some pizza crust and some toppings on the weekend after his birth day. I bought two kinds of cheese, some pineapple tidbits, a can of sliced mushrooms, a pouch of tomato sauce, and sliced ham. My son is not that hard to please, and he likes lots of mushrooms and cheese on his pizza.

He woke up early that Saturday and he kept on asking if we can start preparing the pizza “now.” I have to tell him to wait until after lunch so he and his sister can eat their lunch. I don’t want them eating too much snack food. To some pizza is a nice and fast meal, well I do too, sometimes. But I just have to let my kids know what a good meal is, no matter how humble it may be. After countless queries as to when “the pizza preparation and cooking” should start, I finally relented two hours after lunch. I feel so happy watching my kids specially my son happily helping me prepare his pizza. I even let him prepare one whole pizza, with some coaching.

sorry bout this photo, it's too dark. that's my son preparing the first pizza that he (his hands actually, hehee) baked

2 slices left!

The pizza was a bit hard at the outer edges (a bit toasty!?) but all in all the pizza was ok. It was a special pizza ‘coz my son prepared it on his own. His smile made the activity worthwhile. Their father ate two slices and asked for another but when he saw that my son wants more he backed off! Hehehee. Our son finished four slices of it!

twin egg yolks!

Every weekend, I always try to rise early to cook breakfast for the family. The help can do it. But I want my kids to feel more special, I want them to know that I like to serve them whenever I can 'coz I want them to feel how much I care for them. I want them to feel that they are special to us.

Sometimes I feel sorry whenever my kids ask if I have to go to work the next day or can I bring or fetch them to school. I get sad whenever I hear them say that, more so when I see sadness that they try to mask whenever I tell them that I have to go.

The kids wake up early on weekends, maybe our presence makes them more charged up. So last week I tried to make an omellete for breakfast. And after breaking the shell of the first egg I was surprised when I saw two egg yolks!

Wow! Two egg yolks in one shell! Look at that!

My son was extra curious. He asked me more than twice if the egg yolks really came from one shell! He said those yolks are kambal (twins). Even my youngest was extra curious she kept on repeating the thing along with her brother for at least two days.