Ice Cream Cookie Sandwich

My daughter got a little creative with her afternoon snack. She put a little twist to her cookies and put some ice cream filling and made an icecream cookie sandwich. I love the flavor - coffee crumble.

This was the nth batch of her cookies with coffee crumble in it.


Upclose. Yummy!


And after munching and nibbling, the aftermath...only one cookie left. I have to have it. :)

Please visit other photo hunters for their own version of "aftermath". Have a blessed weekend! :)

Pula (Red)

Kuha ito noong New Year's Eve. Suot ng anak ko ang pulang blouse na pinili niya para gamitin sa pagsalubong sa bagong taon. Oo, lahat kami ay nakapula. Iyan ay isa sa aking mga tradisyon. Gusto kong nakapula kami dahil masaya at buhay na buhay ang kulay.

(This was taken last New Year's Eve. My daughter was wearing the red blouse she chose to use in welcoming the new year. Yes, we all wore red. This is one of my personal traditions. I want us all wearing red because I find it a happy color, it's so alive.)

Kasama niya sa litrato ang paborito niyang aso, si Star, isang shitzu.

(With my daughter in the picture is Star, a shitzu.)

Cheeseburger

Here's what I tossed and turn on the pan, scooped and shoved in the bun. :) Painted it with some mayonnaise. It's good to go. Cheeseburger for my daughter's morning snack at school.

Filipino Mom Blog's meme on "What's in your lunch box?" is on going. Please visit and you may want to participate. :)

The Black Dahlia

This movie is more than two years old now but I have not watched it yet. I was glued to my laptop last night browsing about Rob Pattinson and Chace Crawford when husband nudged me to see what was on teevee. Oh, it was Josh Hartnett. He knows Josh is one of my favorites. I closed the lappie and proceeded to watch The Black Dahlia.

I heard of this movie before but have totally forgotten what's it all about. I was preparing to be bored and thought to myself that I'll sleep halfway through the movie. But I did not. If finished it at almost one in the morning. I was engrossed.

I learned this was a true case back in the 1940s but was never solved. It then has book and film adaptations. The Black Dahlia is directed by Brian de Palma which was a great part of my excitement. Demented, deranged, de Palma.

The Summary. The film's backdrop is the murder of a young lady, Betty Short (Mia Kirshner) whose case has been assigned to two police officers, Lee Blanchard (Aaron Eckhart) and Bucky Bleichert (Josh Hartnett). As the two try to follow the case, deep relations between them as well as with Kay Lake (Scarlett Johansson, Blanchard's live in love) unfolds. Blanchard became obsessive as he relates the gruesome murder to her own sister's death. Bleichert gets to the case in a more methodical way following leads until he met a daughter of one of California's richest families, Madeleine Linscott (Hilary Swank), whose family has much to do with the murder.

The Performance. Josh Hartnett broods a lot. Not a glorious performance but good enough. I would like to think he has done justice to his role - someone on the brink of obsession but gets hold of himself to tread the right path. His screen chemistry with Scarlett is no surprise as they used to be together in real life. But with Hilary Swank? That was a major surprise for me.

There is not much to say on Aaron Eckhart and Scarlett Johansson's performances. Mediocre sounds cruel. Just okay is fine with me.

I have always liked Hilary, always giving a strong presence on screen. She gave a very convincing role of a rich degenerate with long, wavy hair, pouty lips and all. Most reviews don't find her fit for the role because of her strong features. But I would like to believe she delivered the goods.

Together with Hilary, Mia Kirshner and Fiona Shaw, gave convincing performances. Mia as Betty kind of give me goose bumps. Her story was shown through reviewing tapes from her auditions. Also Fiona (Aunt Petunia in the Harry Potter series) stole scenes with her portrayal of a very disturbed mother of Madeleine.

Friendship, love, obsession. It was laid out not in an overly dramatic fashion which is how I prefer my movie. One note on obsession - Hartnett's character is drawn to Hilary's because she has a striking resemblance with the murdered girl. The production design gave the audience a feel of the 1940s no doubt. The direction is clear but suspenseful enough to make you want to follow where each scene gets you.

Normally I put up the movie poster within my post but I will skip this one as the poster gives me the creeps. I chose instead a picture of Josh Hartnett from the movie.

Remakes

On the way to church our stereo was tuned in to Magic Radio because both my husband and my daughter are fond of listening to Miguel, a thirteen year old disc jock, and Big Daddy's World's Corniest Jokes segment.

Suddenly my husband blurted, "alam mong matanda ka na 'pag nire-remake na 'yung mga kanta na favorite mo nung bata ka pa" (you know you're old when you already hear remakes of the songs you love when you were younger). I laughed at what he said. I think "Your Love" was playing sung by...I am not sure now, Katy Perry maybe....but definitely not the band from our generation, The Outfield.

I already heard remakes of Nena's 99 Luft Baloons (99 Red Balloons), New Order's Bizarre Love Triangle, Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over, even Bangles' Eternal Flame long ago. There are so many more music from the 80s that were revived that this post would be too long if I cover them all. Before I forget, I should not go far. The Apo Hiking Society and The Eraserheads were already given tribute by several bands by virtue of Kami nAPO Muna and Ultraelectromagneticjam.

If I may just site one more, Knockin' on Heaven's Door originally by Bob Dylan has a Guns n Roses remake and done by Avril Lavigne a few years ago. Though I can still relate with Avril Lavigne and the like, this song covered three generations already - our parents, me and my husband's and my daughter's.

It used to be that we were the ones listening to remakes from our parents' generation to ours. My reaction would always be the remake is better. My reaction to remakes now? Our generation's version is a lot better. Oh boy.

As John Lennon said, music is everybody's possession.

Of Blogging Pursuits

What do you know. Thank you for this wonderful thought, even if I was able to check it out a year later. That speaks a lot of how much I go around the blog land.

A very inspiring and positive post for 2008. Encourages a 'Pay it forward' attitude and an attitude of gratitude.

Big Hello, Warm Welcome was first posted a year ago in my first blog, Everything and then Some..... which now holds adverts and memes which are not family related.

I just discovered the nice thought this morning. I clicked the link where visitors come from in my stat counter and it landed on a stumble upon entry of babyamore.

My other blog, Beyond Fried Eggs, got an invite also yesterday to be a part of one of the programs of a food site. The guidelines will be emailed to me and I'll see how it works. I am just glad of notes of appreciations like what I have mentioned.

Even before the year ends, I was thinking of taking my blogging more seriously. Put more thought to it. Get a my own domain and have a decent layout. I have specific plans as to how I can integrate all my blogs into one. I just don't know if it's workable. I have to consult a good web designer. And if it's workable, how much will it cost. All these will come in due time.

I love blogging as this is one of my activities which I consider my ME moment. A lot of times though, work both at home and at the office plus my other agenda in life get so demanding that I cannot post as much as I want to. But that's alright. There is no pressure to post.

I am thinking of compartmentalizing my blogs. Compartmentalize, this is a favorite word for me and my colleague. When work gets too heavy and too hectic, we tell each other, we have to compartmentalize to avoid a clutter of activities, to be more organized and systematic.

I have started applying that in blogging but a lot of work needs to be done. I am taking the extra free time while I'm still on a holiday vacation on completing other blogs which will hold other topics I want to write about. How can I take care of all of them when my hands are full already from work and mommy duties? I always say this when I want something done, "kapag gusto may paraan, kapag ayaw maraming dahilan". It's a Filipino saying which roughly means if one wants something done so passionately, it gets done come hell or high water. But if one's heart is not really into it, one finds a million and one reasons not to do it.

Cheers to my online pursuits! May all these go in harmony with my mommy duties, my day jobs and all my other pursuits, worldly and otherwise. :)

Embracing the New Year

The intentions, the feelings still hold true for 2009, Big Hello, Warm Welcome. Good feelings last after all. :)

My husband and I have laid out specific goals for the year and beyond, how to sustain them and how to further improve them - for us, for the family and individually. Getting the gist of both short term and long term goals - they are all about wellness of the body, mind, spirit, living comfortably, paying it forward, letting more opportunities to come in our lives and pray that whatever our decisions are, they are blessed by Him and all geared for the best. Always keeping an attitude of gratitude. Celebrate Life. :)