Coffee Toast

I have shifted from drinking coffee to drinking low fat milk. But this morning I tried having a taste of McDonald's premium coffee. My husband bought one for me too and we had them inside the car while waiting for our daughter to finish her Sunday church worship service. My husband find it weird that we have to take pictures of the coffee like below. But he obliged of course.

The coffee has more kick than the regular coffee but there's nothing that we haven't tasted in other cafes.

A toast to a good Sunday morning.

Across the Universe

There are only a few musical films that are included in my list of favorites. They are Chicago, Hairspray and Sweeney Todd. Disney movies/cartoons excluded.

I was keen on watching Across the Universe reading about its plot - love transcending boundaries. Mushy. Learning that it is a musical downplayed my interest. Still I gave it a try.

The movie was released late last year and so far has earned nomination for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy for Golden Globe among other things. It features 33 of The Beatles songs, why wouldn't it be
nominated?

I did not grow up in the 60s (am a proud 80s child) but any music lover knows each generation's musical history. We have all The Beatles albums because my mother and my Uncle are big Beatles fans. I know their songs. Who wouldn't know John, Paul, George and Ringo in the first place. Plus Yoko Ono.

It's not surprising to note that the movie's leads are named Jude and Lucy. Think Hey Jude and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

I was transfixed to say the least with the MTV fashion some scenes were delivered. The opening scene caught my attention where Jude, alone in a beach front, sings Girl and a stanza after, cut to what seems to be a collage of several flashback scenes with Helter Skelter in the background. And then the story unfolds.

There is nothing much to say about the plot. It's wafer thin so to speak - Jude, a young man from Liverpool went to Princeton to look for his father he has never met in his entire life. From Princeton, he met the young and rebellious Max and they became good friends as they sung With A Little Help from My Friends.

Jude met Max's beautiful sister Lucy whose boyfriend was killed in Vietnam. Attraction ensued with the two which made Lucy sing If I Fell. But different priorities and beliefs seemed to tear their relationship apart. Lucy became so involved in anti-war movement while Jude, ever the artist stayed apolitical. They parted only to see each other again at the end of the movie with the song All You Need is Love.

There are subplots from the movie's bohemian group which also made use of The Beatles music. Aside from Jude, Lucy and Max, other characters include a Jimi Hendri-esque guitar man, an aspiring singer in the person of Sadie (who has appeared in a play as Janis Joplin), a lesbian named named Prudence. She's Asian. It's but right to cast an Asian in honor of Yoko Ono.

All of them, in my own humble opinion, would make John Lennon proud with their own rendition of The
Beatles songs.

Guest performances by music luminaries such as Joe Cocker and Bono of U2 give the movie a lot of credit. Salma Hayek was there too dancing herself away.

Another favorite scene would be Joe Cocker's Come Together playing three characters. The next is Strawberry Fields Forever with strawberries pinned to a white board with their red juice flowing like blood interspersed with scenes from war-torn Vietnam showing Max fighting it out as a soldier.

My favorite quote came from Max, "What you do does not define you. Who you are defines what you do". I remember Christian Bale's Batman Begins, "It's not who I am underneath but it's what I do that defines me". Different angst for different movie genre.

Hitting two birds with one stone, this movie chronicles the 60s generation as they battle through the Vietnam war affecting their relationships and also the leads' emotional and intellectual concerns.

I am not aware of the lead stars but I must say they act well, are all good looking and as if they know the songs by heart. Until now, I'm singing on my head the different Beatles songs highlighted in the movie.

This film is one hallucinogenic movie outing. There is a place featured as a background in one of the scenes which aptly describes the movie, "Psychedelicatessen". It is.

Don't take it seriously, feel the music, be moved when you are and
just enjoy the ride. As Bono's character said in the movie, "Either you are on the bus or off the bus".

Mount Purro

Everything is wooden at Mount Purro. I have a lot to share when it comes to wooden but this place would be the best choice. I would like to share this marvelous place east of Mega Manila, Mount Purro Nature Camp, Calawis, Antipolo City. There's a group of professionals conducting learning activities basically for children aged 8 - 17 years old held at the place.

One of the team buildings I participated in was held here. The place is an hour away from the hustle and bustle of the metropolis but staying there, it's like we were transported to a far away place, isolated from all the city lights and city smog. There was no cell phone signal when we were there. Only a satellite phone is available. The place is good enough for some quick escape.

This camp in Mount Purro is a reforestration program. They employ Dumagats which inhabit the Sierra Madre mountain range. The Dumagats are one of the indigenous people living in the Southern Tagalog region.

As in all other nature getaway, everything is preserved here. The food is good, all Filipino dishes. And I learned this place is packed even on Valentine's day for what they call a "forest date". A bonus is you can ask for a particular dish specially cooked for you and your date.

This is the lanai overlooking the Sierra Madre mountain range.


The sala where you can rest and savor some fresh air.


All the bedrooms look like this. The walls are made of bamboo. It is so cold during the night. Notice the small lampshade, wooden too.


There is an open bedroom good for taking a nap during the day.


The cottages have two floors, the first floor look like this. Some opted to sleep here. No walls, just screen to shield campers from insects.


Look at the bar. Wooden stools and table.


I like this pathway going to the deeper areas of the mountain.


I like this picture a lot. Reminds me of fairy tales and magical places. Dainty.


I hope you enjoyed the virtual tour of Mount Purro's Nature Camp. For more wooden entries, please visit other photo hunters.

Since ECL asked how to get to Mount Purro, I figured some also would be interested to know. Here's the link where you can check out the direction.

Free

Today's Photo Hunt theme is "Free". Sharing you this free item we got from one of the pizza restaurants near our place, Yellow Cab. I think it's their Valentine store promotion. You get a free bear in a tin can for every P600 food purchase (roughly 15 USD). It's cute and my daughter loves it.




For other free photos, please visit Photo Hunt. :) Happy weekend!

The Science of Fairy Tales?

The title and the "inspiration" to write something about fairy tales was lifted from Yahoo's front page. The headline caught my attention as I love fairy tales. I remember, as a child, I fantasize about Jack and the Beanstalk and Hansel and Gretel. I don't think much about Cinderella and Snow White. The witch in the mirror intrigued me more. :)

Anyway, yes, I guess Jack and the Beanstalk has the greatest impact on me. I was fascinated with the giant's hen that lays the golden egg. I wish I have a hen to do that for me. Lay me golden eggs in my own backyard. Wow! I have a Fort Knox in my very home.

I remember getting a little nervous whenever I think of the giants in this fairy tale. There was a show the title escapes me now which features fairy tales. Jack was featured and there was this giant lady with a macro shot which startled me. Gad, was she scary.

Fee! Fie! Foe! Fum!??
I smell the blood of an Englishman.
Be he 'live, or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make my bread.

I kept wandering then if it could happen that a beanstalk would grow so high and reach the sky. I would really, really give it a climb and see what is up there. That thought made me excited as a child. I was even plotting on my mind how I would escape the ogre when he sees me up there. Dodge, run, run faster, slide down the beanstalk.

What science could explain a beanstalk growing as huge as the one at Jack's. I know that there are explanations for gigantism but a giant beanstalk?

And what about Hansel and Gretel. One lazy afternoon as kids, my sister and I was able to catch a movie about Hansel and Gretel and how they managed to escape the witch. They actually tricked the witch so she'd get inside an oven before she bakes Gretel. Yep, an oven. Burn, baby, burn. Clever children. :D

I fancied about the witch's house made of candies and cookies. How I would guard it from the other kids who would want to steal a cookie from it. I wondered how it is to live inside one.

Fairy tales speaks of social causes of the period. Hansel and Gretel depicted the hardships in medieval times. As for the case of Jack, it created controversy as it was interpreted to espouse stealing. For what it's worth, fairy tales handed us moral stories generation after generation.

As for its science, fairy tales should not have any explanations, no science. Maybe they can actually happen as science says. Like how the explanation was with the parting of the sea during Moses' time. An adult like me would want clear cut explanations.

A small voice tells me though to let me use my imagination freely and not confine my thoughts in a box full of cold calculations and justifications why Rapunzel's hair could carry a man, why the Little Mermaid lost her voice to a sorceress, why a carpet can fly, why a hen can lay golden eggs.

Some imaginations need to be left alone. Don't be a party pooper. I don't want to lose the child in me.

*Credits for the pictures goes here for Hansel and Gretel and here for Jack.

Family Bonding

We spent half of our Saturday with my husband's good friend and his family. They are spending their vacation here for a few weeks before they leave next week. This is the first time their kids visited the Philippines and about a decade or so for my husband's friend and his wife from the last time they went here.

As in any balikbayans, they are amazed by the traffic and how the drivers manage to commander the road. It's like being in the middle of a video game. We invited them for a dinner at Bonifacio High Street. We thought of Abe but we wanted something the kids will enjoy too. We opted for Claw Daddy but we were seated at the sister restaurant of Claw which is New Orleans.

After dinner, we went to Marta's Cupcakes for some coffee and for the kids to have fun in decorating their own cupcakes. True enough they were so engrossed doing their cupcakes.

Here are my two favorite pictures of our pretty girls. They had their cute tattoos and rings at Club Priness.


We drove the family back to the place they are staying and we were able to go home a little past twelve midnight. They had a good time and found Serendra beautiful, a place so alive. I had a good time too meeting my husband's good friend and his wonderful wife and beautiful kids.

You may visit other weekend snapshots for more pictures and the stories behind them.

Reconnecting

It's been said that the advancement in technology made people more detached. It's not always the case if I may say. Electronic kiosks, texting, Skyping, emails seemed to have replaced to a large extent one on one, face to face communication with a living, breathing human being at the other end of the line. I can only say it's the demand of the times. We are playing many roles and there are times we have to attend to them simultaneously. Thank God for technology which helps us retain, enhance and continue our link with other people we need and want to communicate with.

As in my case, my family all live in another country. My parents always call me and my daughter. Always equals almost everyday. They always have this phone card ready so they can call us anytime they want. My brother and my sister also do that plus we communicate through emails, social networks, and Yahoo Messenger or Skype. We are updated with what is happening with each other though we are miles apart. It's like we just live on the next block.

I have also met fellow mommies through blogging. And I continue to discover interesting people through the world wide web.

The past months hubby and I have reconnected with our long lost friends. Both with our high school buddies. A few months ago Yahoo groups were set up to link up with our batch. Our own section created an exclusive group so we can freely update each other. Just this week I had dinner with my class in high school. My husband met up several times with his friends he has not seen for years. In fact we had a dinner last night with his very good friend vacationing here in the Philippines. We find fulfillment in being able to renew ties and friendships.

Reconnecting with the people who are a great part of our lives is indeed a blessing. I thank God for that, for the evolving technology which helps us continue and strengthen the ties that bind.

Heavy

Chocolate Caramel Cake
This week's Photo Hunt theme is "Heavy". I would like to post my heavy dessert last night when I had dinner with my high school friends at Cravings. Chocolate Caramel Cake...the icing is really creamy. I did not finish this off as consuming almost half of it really filled me up fast.

The blog address is different on the picture because this came from my Mommy Zone blog along with other pictures of food and my dinner with my high school friends.

*I'll be out early afternoon till evening so this post is up really early. It's two thirty in the morning right now and sleep seem to elude me. Will visit other photo hunters late, late Saturday night or Sunday afternoon. Happy Hunting!

Tag: Photo Hunt

At Cravings with High School Friends

Am I loosely using the term "friends"? I don't know. I don't think so. I just feel so connected with my high school classmates.

As we all know during high school you have your own clique. You have your own group of friends. Somehow our class has this identity we can only call our own. We belong to the top section and ours was kind of different compared to the batches ahead of us. We were branded as aloof, as people just minding our own world. Actually, until now, it was kind of implied that we are still like that. Only a few of us are attending the regular meetings for the alumni homecoming next year and to think somebody from our section should be leading this grand event. And these few people do not even attend regularly. Priorities, priorities. Are we just too busy? Or we are just, again, minding our own world. May I quote my dear classmate M, "our class was a group of individuals and we did not act as a herd and we had fun doing so". Well said.

It was a great night. M did the honor of reserving the function room of Cravings at Shangrila so we can spend some time without bothering other guests with our endless stories and hearty laughs. The small gathering of our section is sinking in to me now. I missed them. I missed high school life. I missed the carefree days of our lives. I missed our old school grounds, the library, the canteen, the bookstore. High school life, they are one of the best memories we can always look back with smiles on our faces.

Dinner at Cravings Shangrila with our Physics teacher
Our terror professor was with us! She's our Physics teacher and everyone's a little afraid of her. She has greatly mellowed and so motherly. She still have that strong presence though and still on-the-go at age seventy one.

It's good to note everybody's got his own personal achievement, both in our careers and with our families. Some added a few pounds, some retained their slim shapes and youthful looks, some improved physically. I love you all guys! Thank you for technology we were reconnected! We are all looking forward to our next meet up.

After dinner, a few of us went to Watering Hole for a little more updating. I had bottled water as I am not into alcoholic drink even if it's social drinking. I just don't like the taste.

And the food at Cravings...I took some shots of what I had and my seat mate E, my orthodontist and my good friend.

Baked Ziti
I had baked ziti after my appetizer. Big serving as should be expected at Cravings. I wasn't able to finish it off as my appetizer of bread and salsa filled me instantly. The ziti was a little bland, it needed loads of parmesan. I was expecting gooeyness of mozarella.

Al Pesto
My friend ordered this one and wasn't too happy about it. Too much oil she said. But I am a pesto fan. I actually preferred this than the ziti.

Walnut Cake
For our dessert, a Walnut cake. I'm not into cake with nuts but I had a bite of this one. I actually liked its buttery moist feel in my tongue.

Caramel Cake
I had half of this one. It's quite heavy on the stomach as the icing is really creamy. Delicious!

French Baker on a Sunday

Our usual routine on a Sunday is this: church, grocery, National Bookstore, go around the arcade for some small buys, lunch or snack (depending on the time).

I was glad to see there is French Baker inside Landmark Supermarket, Trinoma. Our feet are sore already from all the walking we did at the mall and at the grocery. We were starving. The place though is small as most French Bakers are located in supermarkets. Hubby has to bring all the grocery bags to the car so we can dine comfortably.


The coffee (Tchibo) is said to be exclusively distributed for French Baker. It's mild which is just about right for me. It comes with a bite size dessert, milk and lemon water. The presentation looks dainty with the white doily under the cup.


Beef Turn-over remains to be a favorite of my daughter. The crust has seen improvement. It used to be that the whole crust collapse when my daughter digs in her fork to cut a portion of it. It has more hold now. The beef is just so tasty. This costs around P59 (1.5USD).


I tried Tuna Turn-over for the first time. I'm into tuna these days. I was not disappointed with the taste but the filling is not as generous as that of the beef's. The price is at P60. So there's a big difference in the margin with an additional P1 compared to that of the beef. :)


Lasagna can very well be shared by two persons. At least those who consume food on the average. I find their serving big for one person. The sauce sometimes dominates the whole pasta flavor. It's a little sour for my taste.


The carbonara with its generous measure of parmesan and mushroom is a delight. I love its creamy sauce that goes well with their garlic bread.


Now the pizza looks deceiving. Nothing to rave about but it tastes a lot better than some pizza sold in other pizza houses.

Serving time is about ten minutes. The cashier is new I guess because she has to keep repeating my order and not sure about the product codes written in the order slip. Overall, French Baker is a good stop for some good food, lunch or snack time.

Other weekend snapshots are here for your reading pleasure.

Reviewing with the Princess

My daughter's mastery test is scheduled next week. A day before the first day of her school examination is my scheduled vacation leave from work. It has always been that way for a year now. The first day is where most of the hardest subjects are scheduled. Andrea is very good in languages and in science. She needs enhancement in numbers that's why we take longer time going over her Math lessons.

I have always been an independent student since grade school. My mother often gets surprised I have done all my home work and they are all correct when she checks them. I see that on my daughter too. But comparing the subjects and the subject content when I was still in grade school versus the present time, my daughter's time, it's a whole new ballgame.

At third grade they already have an introduction of geometry (at least identifying angles and geometrical shapes) and metric conversion. The hubby usually takes on the Math lessons but well one good thing when my daughter and I review together is I get to refresh my knowledge of basic Math. I do a lot of investment analysis and profit and loss statements but I seemed to have forgotten about angles and stuff. Stuff...who needs them?? Haha. Okay, there are engineers and space planners. I checked with my husband since we belong to the same batch, we had our conversion system during our fifth grade.

The times, they area a-changin', that's what Bob Dylan says. It's a more competitive world out there in this day and age. Hence give the kids all the necessary bullets they are going to need to battle it out in the big world. Whew!

I am a geeky mother but I try to manage myself. I don't want to put so much pressure on Andrea when it comes to reviewing. As the saying goes, different strokes for different folks. The more I let loose when we review her lessons, the more she gets interested and the more she gets to appreciate our time reviewing. It helped too that she is in Kumon. Her appreciation of numbers is suddenly evident.

I don't know the best way but so far the Princess and I are doing good in our study styles. I leave her alone when she does the usual school work and check them only after she's done with them. We review together if there is a need to do so. So far, mother and daughter are at peace maintaining these study habits. :)

Narrow

I have two pictures for today's photo hunt theme, Narrow. The first one was taken at Samal Island. A biker in what appears to be a narrow bridge floating on water.


Here's the walkway to the reception lobby of Dos Palmas. It's quite narrow. Imagine people go here in droves especially during the summer season.



Other photo hunts for narrow are here. I'll be out late this afternoon just when the photo hunt list will be up. I will be visiting most participants at a later time. Happy weekend!