Remember this?
Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things
Cream colored ponies and crisp apple strudels
Door bells and sleigh bells and schnitzel with noodles
Wild geese that fly with the moon on their wings
These are a few of my favorite things
Girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes
Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes
Silver white winters that melt into Springs
These are a few of my favorite things
When the dog bites
When the bee stings
When I’m feeling sad
I simply remember my favorite things
And then I don’t feel so bad.
(from the Musical - The Sound of Music)
I have a few of my favorite things that make me feel happy on the inside and no, it doesn’t include the latest tech gadgets today. I was thinking more of the “rustic, make you feel warm and cozy” type of stuff much like patintero, kite flying and playing on swing sets make you feel.
So what are some of my favorite “comfort” things:
- Chocnut - who needs See’s or Godiva when you’ve got chocnut! The fat one of course.
- Lugaw Tokwa - I miss the authentic probinsya lugaw-tokwa with lots of browned garlic on top.
- Rain - not the typhoon kind or the ones that cause flash floods but I remember growing up listening to the raindrops pitter-pattering on our roof. Music to my ears.
- Fresh bedsheets - especially when they’re cool because of the rain in #3. :)
- Fishballs in UP - I’m not a UP grad but I remember going to UP with my roomate and just pigging out on fishballs and sago. I loooove it when my little fishball swells up with vinegar and the sweet and sour sauce. yum!
- Chinese garter, tumbang preso, patintero, sipa and piko - nope. no Counterstrike for me.
- Ice drop with munggo, keso, beans or buko - they used to make it with those metal molds.
- Chikam - a word coined by my little girl. It’s actually, pork adobo fat cut up into little pieces and fried till crunchy before adding rice from the night before - something I learned from my dad. Singangag to the max.
- DZFE FM - there’s something soothing about classical music. I love listening to the classics especially on a rainy day.
- My dad’s keys with his dogtags - I miss hearing the sound of the clicking of those keys with his dogtags. Once I hear those keys, I immediately know my dad’s finally home. I miss you, daddy!
So these are some of my favorite things. How about you? Care to share what your favorite things are? Just leave a comment if you do.
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Posted in opinion on Jun 6th, 2009
It’s the week after our kids ballet recital and were still trying to get back to our normal routine. The little ones got back to their Kumon spiel today with our 9 year old taking (and passing) his level FII exam for reading. This now puts him as a Gold awardee for both Math and Reading. Our six year old, however, was leisurely going back to her thing. Not a problem really, just like carefully shopping for industrial equipment supplies. You just have to focus on the long term results. On our end, we had to catch up with the laundry and finish up on some project backlogs. While the recital was an interruption, it was most welcome since it gave the kids the exposure and experience they will cherish for a lifetime
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Posted in opinion on Apr 30th, 2009
The part few days have been hectic for us. Tes is working on a layouting project. I’ve been teaching ballet while working on my applications to teach physics in universities. To complicate things, my mother and sister-in-law are on vacation from overseas. One has to struggle just to meet this balancing act. Pay insurance online. Stock-up on cooked food. Re-schedule some activities.Write down appointments. The important thing is to have a frequent assessment of the importance, urgency and economics of every effort. At the end of the day, we have to question ourselves, “Did we accomplish something towards our longterm goals?”
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Posted in opinion on Mar 23rd, 2009
Today was an interesting day for the family. After church, Tes and I took the kids to the Market Station at Paseo de Sta. Rosa. There they observed how to buy stuff in a market. We bought some live tilapia and some chicken. (We later fried the tilapia for lunch. ). We also bought some shrimps, rice and bread. ( Thus we had good fresh food for today’s meal). Later this afternoon, we cleaned the car as a family. Tes and I washed and waxed the car. The kids swept and shampooed the upholstery. The day was capped with a charbroiled chicken and spicy shrimp dinner.
It really felt good to have the kids involved in the chores. It seemed that our relationships grew a little bit today. Family time doesn’t have to be going to a movie or to a restaurant. It can be the simple everyday things just done with a higher sense of fun and involvement. Its really the engagement, rather than the expense, that counts!
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Posted in opinion on Mar 16th, 2009
How do you deal with kids that are bored? Nowadays, most kids sit in front of the TV or play video games. In our home, you find the kids reading books or watching family or Christian videos. It was only lately that they learned to play video games. Their favorite is a game called bookworm which is a sophisticated word forming game. Another one they play is Zoo Empire, it teaches them to care for animals and manage customer satisfaction.
To choose the right games for your kids, ask yourself this questions:
1.) Is it appropriate for their age? Should your 9 year old be playing half life or counterstrike? Are they ready for blood, gore or sexual suggestion? (Street Fighter and Tekken are quite sexually suggestive)
2.) What values does the game promote? Is it in line with your spiritual beliefs? Do you really want your child to acquire the game’s worldview?
3.) Is there some educational value? A game like Civilization teaches the player how civilizations evolve.
4.) Does it develop analytical or improvisational capabilities? A game of chess, Command and Conquer or Harpoon are great examples. Have this questions handy the next time your child bugs you for a game.
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Posted in opinion on Mar 4th, 2009
In the past few days I realized that the world stops when you or your loved ones get sick. Since Thursday, I had to stay with my family in the clinic they were confined to for treatment of pneumonia. My routine with be to look at the time and see if it was time for their medication. ( I wish had a J12 watch !) I would then prepare the meds and give it to them. Other tasks would be to help the kids urinate or spit our their phlegm. We would also have our time of prayer, the main theme was recovery and provision. This was a time of redirection and refocusing of our lives toward what really counts. Everyday we do a lot of things but are they really important? I thank God that my wife and kids are now out of the clinic and on their way to recovery. But I am grateful that this experience has brought us a step higher in our relationship with God and closer towards what are purpose is for our generation.
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Posted in opinion on Mar 4th, 2009
Our recent experience with pneumonia has brought our family closer. For 3 nights we had to sleep together in 1 bed. Under normal circumstances, this would have been uncomfortable unless we were using a sleep number bed. However, the need to be in close proximity with the children to monitor their status and respond to their needs justified such a set up. Every few minutes, someone was coughing and required a kidney bowl for the sputum. We needed to check if one of the kids was entangled in the IV hoses. Considering that their well now it was well worth it.
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