baby rambutan

in many conversations with other stay-at-home moms the topic almost always includes going back to work. as if, we are not working at home huh? but getting paid to work, whether to augment the family income or to work for self-fulfillment, is on most moms’ minds, especially as the children grow older and as they get independent and busy with their own lives.

then moms have to grapple with the issue, should i work full-time, getting up early, dressed up!, with the kids getting to school on time and maybe even too early so i can get to my work place on time? having to pay for gasoline, after-school daycare or paying someone to take care of my chauffeuring duties for my kids?

i want to work from home, at my own time, at my own pace. i want to get paid doing something i love to do, something i am already doing.

isn’t this the secret to a happy worklife? doing something that makes you happy, and getting paid for it? i’m going for broke, so i’m signing up with smorty to get paid for blogging. it’s not that much of a stretch, to give opinions on products that i use which i already do anyway. the irresistibly enticing difference? getting paid for it! just sign up, get approved, grab the opportunities that are relevant to you and to your blog, and give your opinions about the products or services with links back to the advertisers’ websites. just a little bit of html know-how and you’re in!

once the post is approved, you get paid.

sounds easy? it is. click here to find out more on how to advertise on blogs and how smorty works. it’s mind-boggling! getting paid for blogging.

“pineapple flavored ice cream swirled with crushed pineapple and graham cracker pieces”

limited edition,1.5 quarts instead of 1/75…and the cute little hula girl pushed me over the edge.

verdict: excellent flavor, refreshing pineapple swirls! all three kids loved it.

(i only had a tiny little teaspoon of a taste, but it’s sapping all my strength, trying desperately not to succumb to temptation, and lap up the whole box!)

i think i have to call  email this ice cream company to tell them, you can’t discontinue this, that would be a crying shame. .

breaking news…here’s their response:

Dear Mrs. T(akaw),

M****** J****

Consumer Relations Representative

b.u.m.m.e.r.

in our neck of the woods, when the weather hits 70 degrees F and above, and it’s October, and you know

you’re supposed to be cold and wet but instead it’s warm and sunny…

you have a cookout.

with #1son home for the long Columbus Day weekend, balmy breezes, and after discovering the source of plentiful hardwood charcoal (after a long and futile search all week long because the big box stores had packed them away for the season)…. it was time to skewer up some pork and marinate the chicken wings.

i made these dishes which were really easy and tasty sides for the grilled meats.

i made green papaya atchara, using a new vegetable peeler which i’d read about as great for peeling thin skinned fruit and vegetables (tomatoes! nectarines! peaches! no need to do the x-ing on the bottom, blanching in hot then plunging in cold ice water! method described here) and discovering that the swiveling serrated blades worked great for the thick hard green papaya skin as well. (and no this is not a sponsored post )

the sharp curved tip is useful for poking out eyes from potatoes and pineapples too. this one’s by zyliss.

the garbanzo bean salad is easy and quick to make! i adapted the recipe from the back of the can, substituting crushed garlic cloves and adding juice from half a lemon.

the garlicky tart garbanzos were especially good with nasi lemak (coconut-pandan rice) which i made with basmati rice.

recipes ….. (more…)

it’s contagious! i got this from the Knitty Mommy. (she makes beautiful things with her hands, and to someone like me with ten clumsy thumbs, well that’s truly admirable. )

here’s something fun from spell with flickr.
note to self: need to play more.


here’s my motto!

it’s Columbus Day weekend, the weather is summer-warm around here, and #1son is coming home! actually he came home during the middle of the week when his Dad dropped two words during a phone conversation: “munggo guisado“, (mung bean saute) or so i like to think, and that it’s not the other three little words i overheard Dad say (“Red Sox game”) ….

with sincere and heartfelt apologies to the KnittyMommy, so so sorry dear, i didn’t know i was tagged (*knocks head on wall for not bloghopping enough!* my excuse: May was an awfully busy month, but that just makes me feel bad…forgive me!)

1. was your first pregnancy planned? no, but what a happy !!!surprise!!!
2. were you married at the time? yes
3. what were your reactions? surprised qualms, anxious elation, desperate joy
4. was abortion an option for you? nevah!
5. how old were you? 2818 (nakalusot ba)
6. how did you find out you were pregnant? went to planned parenthood (libre don noh!)
7. who did you tell first? Mr.T
8. did you want to find out the sex? no
9. due date? May 7,1989 teka teka teka buking na tuloy ako
10. did you have morning sickness? no
11. what did you crave? chocolate! chocolate! chocolate! (baby had nutty brown hair, because of chocolate according to my mother)
12. who/what irritated you the most? Mr. T!!! and shrimps, and bad smells
13. what was your first child’s sex? boybi
14. did you wish you had the opposite sex of what you were getting? no
15. how many pounds did you gain throughout the pregnancy?? sssh!
16. did you have a baby shower? yes
17. was it a surprise or did you know? i “orchestrated” it somewhat hahaha
18. did you have any complications during your pregnancy? high blood sugar, pre-diabetic
19. where did you give birth? a small city hospital
20. how many hours were you in labor? 20 hours
21. who drove you to the hospital? Mr. T
22. who watched you give birth? Mr. T and the handsome anaesthesiologist heehee
23. was it natural or C-section? C-section
24. did you take medicine to ease the pain? C-section nga ano (and it was the easiest delivery, of all 3!)
25. how much did your child weigh? kasi nga 9 lbs. 7 ozs!
26. when was your child actually born? April 14, 1989–3 weeks early, wonder how much he’d have weighed at full term?
27. what did you name him/her? Max-x-imum
28. how old is your first born today? 18 1/2 yrs. old–and he’s much taller than both his parents

i’m tagging ALL my mommy-friends…because i don’t know any mom who doesn’t want to reminisce about the first time she met her baby/ies….

you just need a cake, a stencil made with a cookie-cutter, cocoa powder and confectioners’ sugar. oh and a yummy chocolate almond cake.

#2son: is it a “J” ?

daughter: a fluffy tailed squirrel?

#1son: an owl?

it’s supposed to be a kitty! geddit? geddit?

recipe for chocolate almond cake from “Real Chocolate,” by Chantal Coady, proprietor of Rococo Chocolates, London. (coming soon added 2 Oct)

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