Losing Weight

I have been busy with trying to lose weight that is why I haven't posted for awhile.

Let me give you a brief story about my struggle with losing weight. When I arrived here in New Zealand, that was January 2007, my goal was to lose weight. I was 76 kilograms then. What made me decide to really lose weight was because of the doctor's advice in New Zealand. She said if I lose weight and monitor my blood pressure, I could probably stop taking my hypertension medication.

So I started watching what I ate and exercised. In a span of 4 months I lost 20 kgs. I have maintained this weight for almost 2 years. The start of this year was a bit of stressful for me, because of having to learn how to drive, so I just ate what I wanted to give me comfort and I never exercised as well. Come July, I already gained 10 kgs, and was only able to wear 2 of my pants. So I told myself, this should stop.

Mid July, I started watching what I ate and exercised again. I was very determined, otherwise I will end up weighing 76 kgs again. One of the things that made me want to lose weight was the fact that I wanted to eat a lot at the Christmas season.. :-) After 4 months my efforts have all finally paid off. The 10 kgs were off, but comparing this to my 2007 weight loss, 20 kgs was lost for 4 months. Well, I think the difference was in 2007, my exercise was walking outside and this year I was walking inside the house.

I just need to keep this weight off, then I could enjoy eating on the holidays. Yehey!

Stories that make me Smile

Story No. 1 Si Ben hindi pababayaan ang tummy nya.
Ben said he would be an inventor. He would be inventing in a 8 story building which is supposed to be his workshop. He said he will do this when he is 33, kaso isip isip sya, compute, sabi nya, mas bata na lang daw nya gagawin, mga bandang 21 years old daw sya. Kasi pag 33 na daw sya, matanda na daw si Dad nya, mahina na at baka hindi sya matulungan. hahahaha...
At tinanong pa ako, sa age daw ba na yun, ipagluluto ko pa daw ba sya, sabi ko oo... Kasi daw baka magutom sya sa kakainvent.... :-)
Story No. 2 Huli si Dad by Ann
Ann was asking me to help her draw, sabi ko after I finish washing the dishes kasi I always have lots of work to do at home. Naisip ko naman tanungin, eh si Dad pag nasa house anong ginagawa nya? Syempre, she would tell the truth, sabi nya always computer daw.... Hahaha, huli si Dad...
Story No. 3 Too Young to Worry
One day, Ben asked me if he had freckles, sabi ko oo konti lang. He suddenly became upset, ayaw daw nya na may freckles sya. Sabi ko ok lang yun kasi konti lang and don't get exposed to the sun too much... Sabi nya, ibili ko daw sya pamahid sa face nya, yung pantanggal ng freckles and wrinkles.... In the back of my mind I was laughing, pano ba naman 6 years old pa lang si Ben, worried na sya sa wrinkles, paano pa kaya ako... So I just told him, he was to young to worry about that,buti nakinig naman...
More stories to come when my kids say something interesting in the future... :-)

The Curry Monster

My son's favorite, my vegetable curry with freshly baked naan. See him in this video, which i think is so cute and funny... :-)

Healthy Pasta Dish

I've made my own version of Pasta Primavera. I know I'm not an expert but in my kitchen anything goes... Basta nagustuhan ng mga kids yung mga imbento kong luto, that will do... Especially if it has meat and veggies in it, its a keeper, and they believe me if I tell them it's healthy...

Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive oil or vegetable oil

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 medium sized onion chopped

400 grams shoulder bacon chopped (this one does not have the fat that the middle bacon has)

1/2 head brocolli sliced into small pieces

1/4 head cauliflower sliced into small pieces

1 carrot sliced into small pieces

1/2 cup water

2 x 250 ml pouring cream

salt and pepper to taste

500 grams spaghetti cooked as per package directions

1. In a large non-stick pan, fry the bacon, when a little bit brown, set aside.

2. Heat oil and saute garlic and onions.

3. Put the bacon back and put brocolli, cauliflower, carrot and water.

4. Let simmer for a few minutes until veggies are half cooked.

5. Put the cooked spaghetti into the bacon and veggie mixture.

6. Add the pouring cream and cook, stirring constantly until liquid is reduced to 1/2 or until it looks creamy.

7. Put salt and pepper to taste.

Actually, my kids like it with a little bit of dry rubbed basil on top when I serve it... :-)

Happy Birthday to me!!!!

Sino po bang tao ang nagbobroadcast na birthday nya.... Itaas ko na kamay ko... Kasi 30 years old na ako... Happy happy birthday to me... :-) Thank you Lord for giving me life....

HELP - Tea Party Etiquette

Hi guys! Hope you can help me with this. Saan kaya ako makakahanap ng complete resource on how to do a proper tea party. Tagal ko na kasi humahanap sa internet, pero hindi sufficient. Then yung sa library naman, search ako, wala din, pero parang meron kaso lang yung book 2 years ng hindi sinosoli. Mas magaling siguro kayo magsearch sa akin, so patulong naman. And
if you could chance upon a book in a bookstore, na hindi naman mahal, if you could please inform me.

My kids and I have been trying to do tea parties every weekend but I think we haven't followed the right etiquette yet. Nakakatuwang gawin, kasi yung mga naresearch ko na tamang paghawak ng tea cup and how to drink it, sinusunod naman nila. And tea time is a good time for us to discuss anything under the sun, especially those topics concerning what they want to be when they grow up, what they want to improve in themselves, or what they wanted to tell mom or dad. This ritual I want to continue until they grow up...

So please help us... :-)

Mana kay Mommy, Mana kay Daddy

Eversince my son told me that his goodness comes from me :-) and his sillyness comes from his dad (nalamangan kita dito dad, hindi ko tinuruan si Ben ha...), I wanted to list all the looks and traits that my children got from me and my husband. So here it goes:

Benedict
From Mom:
His mouth and eyebrows
Smart
Good at reading
Matanong
Makulit
Super sweet (gives me a million kisses a day, ok exage ito:-))
Sensitive
Iyakin
Early Riser
From Dad:
Face (pinagbiyak na bunga)
Nose (wish it was from me)
Sillyness (according to Benedict)
Funny
Likes computer games
Laging gutom

Ann
From Mom:
Face? nothing from mom, really :-(
Fat Legs
Smart
Sweet (kisses me whenever she sees her brother kisses me)
Makulit
Pa-cute
Likes sweets

From Dad:
Ears
Nose (wish it was from me again)
Good at drawing
Lovely handwriting
Creative
Matagal Matulog