Two Pigs and a Monkey

Promised my son that we will get him a pair of futsal (indoor football) shoes after we're quite settled with school expenses.  That day turned out to be yesterday.  

 For the majority of their young lives, my kids were both into Wushu.  When my daughter turned 18, we asked her to shift to strength training, while my son opted to try-out in their school's futsal team.  Not much of a change for my daughter, she just needed new sets of jogging pants and shirts, but for my son, he requested for a new pair specialized shoes. Buying futsal shoes turned out to be more difficult than anyone of us thought.  We literally went to all the sports stores at SM North EDSA and Trinoma.  If you're familiar with these two shopping malls, they are easily a mile apart.  

After a short lunch, we had to do divide ourselves to save time in accomplishing our "missions." Hubby went with daughter as she needed to have her cellular phone's lcd repaired.  Off I went with my son.  Walked, walked, and walked, putting my endurance to wearing plat form sandals to the next level.  It was a full two hours of walking before we finally found the right pair (*triple sigh here*).

Next in our list was shopping for our grocery supplies, which is really hubby's domain (he does the cooking).  This time I asked my son to go with him, while daughter  and I headed off to the ladies' section.  Got myself  three hankies and saw these three cute pairs of socks!  Yes, two pigs and a monkey!  Don't you just love a cute pair of socks to match your rubber shoes? I do!

Wishin' you all a most productive week!!

Second Breakfast

First time I came across "second breakfast" was from one of the well-loved hobbits, Pippin (Remember that scene from The Fellowship of the Ring, when the 4 hobbits and Aragorn were on their way to Rivendell). 

And I thought then that he was being silly. 

I was wrong! 

A few years later, "second breakfast" became a staple at home.

Breakfast (operative meaning being "the first meal of the day") is a pretty predictable fare in our household--Mondays to Fridays are fresh fruits (purely fruits--no sugar, no salt please), Saturdays are native banana crepe while Sundays' heavy plates of rice (always referring to brown/red kind), sunny side-up eggs and sardines. 

Brewed coffee is always part of second breakfast, today we're having it with slices of toasted wheat bread.  I've been trying to skimp on dairy products, so it's a "no butter please" for me. 

Why the need for a second breakfast? Because fresh fruits stay are easily digestible, staying only for a very short time in our stomach, easily absorbed by our body.  Half an hour after your final bite and you're hungry!

This is just today's second breakfast we're talking about. 

Lunch in a bit is steamed rice, grilled tanigue and baked beans. 

Pleasant day to y'all!

Two Dads on Father's Day - Part 2

After those heavy lunch dishes at last Sunday's Father's Day celebration, here are what we had for dessert.  Not being defensive here, but let me say that this is one of those rare times that we ordered a slice for each of us, it was a real sugar overload!

This is my son's Apple Caramel Slice.

Banoffee Slice for my daughter.

Hubby's cake and coffee combination -- Pecan Pie Slice and a cup of cappuccino

Tiramisu Slice for me, always a dark chocolate fan.

My Dad opted to just have a cup of cafe mocha, but he also had a bite from each of our cake slices. 

The next day, a Monday,  I had to endure a whole day of sugar withdrawals after my sugar overload.  It was sheer willpower to carry on with that day's schedule.

The most important for me was having my Dad and hubby and our kids together at this year's Father's Day.

A Gift to an Endearing Friend

With my brother from Iloilo City (in town for a short visit) and a friend's birthday earlier this month were enough reasons for me to visit one of my favorite gift shops, Papemelroti.  Blessed to have their main branch so near our place.

So what you see above are the two items that I got for this endearing friend of mine.  It's a card that says, "Let your light shine"  and a "Mother" coaster.  If I thought picking a gift for her was hard, I realized that the harder part is writing the dedication.  Got 'em gifts 2 nights ago and I still haven't come around to wrapping it because I found myself at a loss about the dedication part.  This friend and I have shared tons and tons of life's experiences.  We have been friends for the past twenty-five years (25) and our kids are in the same age bracket  and are also friends.  One of the greatest things when you reach my age is that when you talk about a friend that goes a long way back, you can mean it literally.

I'm writing about this in the hope that I'd get some inspiration.  Sounds like too much of a big deal?  Maybe, but hey, I cannot bring myself to take relationships like this for granted.  So here I am wracking my brains.  

In the mean time, let me share the three quotes on the "Mother" coaster:

*A mother is a forever friend.*

*A mother's love is the heart of the home.*

*A garden of love blooms in a mother's heart.*

And here I am back to the drawing board, as they say. 

This Sunday's Lunch

Going to Frutti FroYo is always a treat for the four of us! 

And one of the perks of having your abode within the vicinity of Tomas Morato Avenue, is that so many of my favorite restaurants and coffee shops are just a stone's throw away! 

But it must have been the shortest lunch, as you can see it's just a cup each.  

What's in Our Sandwiches?

Tuna is not something new in our family, it being a staple in our viands and sandwich fillings. Let me share with you my sandwich filling recipe.  

In opting for a healthier alternative, instead of the usual mayonnaise, it's Nestle Creamy Yogurt (and thankfully, well-received by hubby and kids) for us.  For a crunchy feel, I add chopped onions (nutritious too!). I would have also added minced pickles, except that we didn't have a bottle available in our home kitchen.

Drain the tuna, add the chopped onions and the yogurt.  Then mix, mix, mix! Btw, it has been my practice not to add salt if one of the ingredients is a processed food. In this case, since it's canned tuna, that means salt's been added already.  So I see no need to add more.  Add black pepper to taste.

 This is the finished product. 

 Tuna filling between 2 slices of wheat bread.  

Based on my experience, a 15-oz can of canned tuna yields 16-18 sandwiches.

Only Two Cups

With our two kids back to school, it's just hubby and I mostly during school days (too early to say that we're experiencing the empty nest syndrome, but sometimes it feels that).  Morning rushes start at home from the moment they wake up till they're out the front door with their hot lunches and healthy sandwiches.  

They gotta be off first then onto those everyday morning chores at home and then chill a bit with a cup of brewed coffee with hubby.