New Playground.

There's a new landmark in town.  It's called High Street South.

We all know High Street by now, the open air mall at the heart of the Global City.  They added a new block that will let you walk further south.  The shops, they say, would be more high end.

As of now, only restaurants are opened... shops not yet.  But the open area is now available to the public... especially to the the kids.  They have a new playground that could get them very wet.

Amusing for the kids.

Not too fun for the yayas, unfortunately.

My little boy was too wet for a picture.  I did not even attempt to take a shot.  Good thing, his nanny was a girl scout... ever so ready for splash fun times like this.

Another Year.

March 22 went by again.  Of course, this is a special day for me and my little boy because it's the Daddy's birthday.


On the eve of hubby's day, the little boy and I surprised him with this...
And this...
But really... nothing else screams HAPPY BIRTHDAY other than this.
I must point out, though, that I never got any gift from the hubby during my birthday... so this screams "Happy Birthday to ME", too!


Happy birthday, love.

Blind Side.

I was channel surfing last Saturday night when I came across a movie in HBO.  A guy dressed drearily just entered a classroom filled with normal American teenagers.  Some minutes later, I saw Sandra Bullock sporting a blond hair and driving a luxury car.


I later learned that the movie was called The Blind Side.  Sandra won her first Best Actress trophy in the Oscars here.
Since this is an Oscar-worthy movie, I thought I was off to watching a tear-jerker dramafest or a suspense-filled highly political movie.  As it went on, however, I was pleasantly suprised that it was inspiring, the story was simple yet powerful.


The movie was about Big Mike, an African-American teenager who was headed towards the rots because (1) his mother was a drug addict who had several kids with different fathers, (2) he lived at the bad side of town, and (3) he did not get a chance to get good education.  Jumping from one foster home to another, he ended up sleeping in the couch of one his father's friends.  This person helped him get accepted in a nice school where he met a little boy whose family was rich.  He eventually became part of this rich family.  They legally adopted him, hired a tutor for him, and made sure he lives a comfortable life until he graduated from college.  


This is a true story.  Big Mike or Michael Oher is now one of the more famous NFL players, a first-round draftee of the 2009 NFL Draft.


See the real Big Mike with the Tuohy family.
I was most affected by Big Mike's pure heart... how he showed his appreciation to the help he was given and did not abuse the support of his adoptive family.  Instead, he returned the favor by doing his best all the time.  The Lord saw that Big Mike deserves a better chance in life so He led this boy to the Tuohys.


And because this is a movie, one would think that the story is extraordinary (to which I agree).  But goodness exists everywhere.  I find it all the time in my family and friends.  In their own little way, they have made things a bit easier and happier for me.  I hope I am doing the same thing for them.


I wish more movies like this would win Oscar awards.  I bet there are a lot of stories to tell.  It's about time that we hype the good.

Blogger App!!!

Posting this entry from my iPhone... And I am very excited about it.

I am still a Blogger laptop version fan, of course. But, the app makes it all the more convenient to post entries anytime, anywhere.

Assemble Yourself Furniture.

Filling up a house is indeed difficult.  Apart from obsessing on the design that goes with your taste, you got to think about the budget.

Our search has brought us to a lot of stores here in Manila, one of them was SB Furniture in Market! Market!.

We were looking for a bedside table and a desk which would double as the other bedside table.  Hubby and I were having a hard time looking for a pair since all the pieces that I liked were waaay above our budget.

I have seen SB Furniture a lot of times already but got intimidated because the store and the pieces look a notch higher than our budget.  One day, however, I decided to take a look.  I was surprised that the pieces were not too pricey.  And the collection was modern contemporary so it can easily fit into our somewhat bare bedroom.

I easily found the desk that I was looking for... not the ONE that I wanted (it was too expensive) but I can live with it for a very long time.  The thing is... it was white and there was no other color available.  But the store had an answer... they had a white bedside table.  Problem solved.  Purchase made!

The downside to everything was that it had a delivery charge.  The delivery included assembly and/or installation, according to the salesperson... but still, it was Php300 for a few kilometers from Market! Market! to our place.  Hubby and I had a bright idea to bring home the furniture and assemble it ourselves.  People in the states do it anyway.

It took us the whole night.  We were up until 3AM.

It was sweat, sweat and more sweat.  But look at what we made!

The bedside table for only Php2600.

The desk for only Php4700.

We were happy about the two pieces that we purchased the little boy's bed a few months after.  There was a "buy now, pay installment after 4 months" offer so we grabbed it.  

This time, though, we paid the delivery charge and had the bed assembled by them.

Fish Can Be Yummy, Too!

The Lenten season has just started so it's time to bring in fish into the Friday diet.  For a lot of us, this is indeed a sacrifice because let's face it... fish is not as yummy as lechon, bulalo or fried chicken.

One not-so-busy Friday, my officemates decided to have a relaxing lunch in Cookbook Kitchen in Eastwood and I tagged along.

Being new to the restaurant, I depended on the suggestion of Ms. Amie.  She highly recommended the Parmesan Crusted White Fish.

It was YUMMY... perhaps, the yummiest fish recipe ever!

They put the fish (I think it's Dory Fish) in between layers of parmesan cheese (and cream).  Sprinkle herbs on top, perhaps rosemary.  Bake it, then serve with lemon/lime.

Because of the richness, you may reach "umay" during your last 5 chomps so I would suggest that this be shared by two.  I did finish mine without help, however.  One serving costs Php380.

That fish dish was divine, I did not know if that was a valid Friday sacrifice.  Definitely, a take two is going to happen soon... I will bring hubby along.