Live at PJs

Happy Birthday to our sis Jennifer!

We had a fun-filled celebration.

Cheers to one fabulous, fun, and loving lady!

The more the candles, the bigger the wish.

What's on her birthday wish list?

1. Family dinner

2. Night of dancing

3. To be forever 39

Your wish is our command...

We hosted a family dinner and prepared her favorite Filipino dishes. Masarap!

We invited a few friends to join us for cocktails and dancing. Get your groove on!

We granted her wish to be "forever 39". Wiggle your nose!

Did we say, "Big 40!"?

Big Oops... She only turned 39!

She celebrated getting a year younger!

That's even better.

With the celebrant.

Red balloons, her favorite color.

The happy couple, Scott & Jenn.

Brave and defiant Shelley.

"Did you call your Mom?" (a little inside joke)

"Happy 39th Birthday, or whatever age you want to be..."

Love Patrick

A gift from us and the Rondeaus.

Scott & Wendy

"You don't know the power of the dark side!"

Darth Vader filled with candies...

...from Matthew.

Aging stops here... at 39.

Are you ready?

"Do I really have to blow these candles in a row!? I can't!"

"Do you have emphysema?" LOL!

Three more candles and you get your wish.

What's so funny?

Smile...

...and smile...

...some more with Kara & Derek...

... and Justin.

A couple of cute couples.

The newly happily engaged lovebirds.

Where's Bob?

One last dance...

Back to Life, Back to Reality

I love the sweet smell of dawn- 

our unique daily opportunity to smell time,

to smell opportunity-

each morning being, a new beginning.

Emme Woodhull-Bache

How long have I been away living the Twilight world?  It's still summer isn't it?  Have I been so absent that I didn't notice the leaves have begun to change colors and fall? Oh my! It's dawn...I'm awake.  I finished reading Breaking Dawn earlier this week.  Boy, are my eyes ever grateful.  Though I can't say the same for my husband.  

Guess who's been bitten?  That's right--the Mr.   Here are my favorite funny comments from him so far:

1. No wonder you girls are goo-goo-ga-ga- over Edward... As described by Bella, he is excruciatingly gorgeous, a boy with old fashioned manners, he's chivalrous, has all the money anyone could ever need and doesn't care about richness, he's superhuman strong, he'll always be a protector, and he's dangerous.

2. Ahh, I have a theory... Ahh, I have another theory...

3. Bits of Edward exist in men, like his temper! (LOL!) Kidding, I'd like to think I have some of his good traits. (Wink!)    

4. Don't tell Jean, but I think all I want to do tonight is read the book and find out what happens next.

5. Can I find out which Cullen Hero I am? "I'm Bella!?" Ha-ha-ha-- Len should have a quiz for the guys too!  

I'm really enjoying watching my hubby's reaction to the books, he cracks me up.  Hope he forgives me for posting this...

Happy Labor Day weekend everyone!  I don't know about you, but this is a much needed holiday for me.  I've abandoned so many tasks outside of work, so I have much catching up to do.

Breaking Dawn

"Don't be afraid," I murmured.

"We belong together."

I was abruptly overwhelmed by the truth of my own words.

This moment was so perfect, so right,

there was no way to doubt it.

His arms wrapped around me,

holding me against him...

It felt like every nerve ending in my body

was a live wire.

"Forever," he agreed.

Breaking Dawn

Stephenie Meyer, Author

At last! Book four. (Not that I've been waiting long.) I really enjoyed reading Eclipse.  Although I'm still digesting the book, the end gave me a peace of mind unlike books one and two.  Strangely, I felt almost a sigh of relief that I could escape back to the real world; the Twilight Saga has held me prison.  Oh, to see the sun, to slumber!  It was wonderful to breathe in the warm fresh air today.  So, as I prepare to return to Breaking Dawn, equipped with the reading advice and warning from Len, I hope this one will satisfy my thirst for more... Well, until the release of book five---Midnight Sun.

I'm an Esme!

If I was a character in the Twilight saga books, who would I be?

Click here to  find out which Cullen Heroine you are.

(Courtesy of Twilighters Anonymous)

Len's a Bella!

It was a lot of fun talking with you today Len.

Eclipse

... is here.

For those of you out there planning to read the New Moon, TURN AWAY now before you read my comments.

Billy- You asked what my thoughts are on the New Moon. Hmm...

Heartbroken. I deeply felt Bella's state of comatose during those months without mention of Edward. It was a painful read. I sensed the werewolves and wanted to kick myself for not foreseeing the parallel story line from Shakespeare hidden earlier deeply within. (I'm still unsure about how I feel about that.) I felt a jolt when Edward came back to the picture; that phone call was something else! I loved that the story traveled abroad, especially at a place the six of us have been to (that is Tuscany) , it made me even more excited. However, that place where they were and who surrounded them truly frightened me. I found myself cuddling even closer to my sleeping husband when I was reading about Volterra. I had to keep reading pass that chapter and the one that followed to prevent myself from falling asleep, knowing that a nightmare would surely await me if I stop then and there. (It was very late, and yes- I'm a bit weak in that scary stuff area. I tried best not to visualize too much of what I was reading, due to my very active imagination.) It was making me too anxious; writer's mission accomplished. I wanted to end on a good note. I did at the Flight. Unlike Twilight, I've concluded that New Moon was too melancholy for me to read again. In the event that I do, I am surely to skip those two couple of frightening chapters.

And so it seem that everything came back in full circle by the end, but I sense that this is really just the beginning...

PREFACE

ALL OF OUR ATTEMPTS AT SUBTERFUGE HAD BEEN IN VAIN.

With ice in my heart, I watched him prepare to defend me. His intense concentration betrayed a hit of doubt, though he was outnumbered. I knew that we could expect no help--- at this moment, his family was fighting for their lives just as surely as he was for ours.

Would I ever learn the outcome of that other fight? Find out who the winners and the losers were? Would I live long enough for that?

The odds of that didn't look so great.

Black eyes, wild with their fierce craving for my death, watched for the moment when my protector's attention would be diverted. The moment when I would surely die.

Somewhere, far, far away in the cold forest, a wolf howled.

Eclipse

Stephenie Meyer, Author

New Moon

For Len, Vince, Billy, Jean, Sonia...

fellow Twilighters.

Day 1: midnight - two o'clock a.m.

Day 2: one o'clock a.m. - three o'clock a.m.

Day 3: sometime between midnight and one o'clock a.m. - seven o'clock a.m.

These were the accounts of my reading hours for Twilight. I couldn't believe it.  The first couple of nights when I opened this book (which I seemed to have done after my day came to an end), I promised myself I would read but a few chapters, stopping at a point where I knew I was comfortable resting it down for the early hours of the morning.  On the third night, I had planned to give it no more than one hour of my time. The plan failed.  I had one of those there's no turning back moment.  The story catapulted me in, so much so that I didn't even notice the break of dawn.  What have I gotten myself into?   

Bright and early while I was half asleep, Patrick got up; and in the corner of my eye noticed me, noticing him looking at where my bookmark was placed.  "You finished?", his tone was not surprised.  He jumped back on to bed, grin on this face, and laughs as he pretended to bite my neck! 

On to the sequel! But first things first, I need "a minute to be human"...   

These violent delights have violent ends

And in their triumph die, like fire and powder,

Which, as they kiss, consume.

Romeo and Juliet, Act II, Scene VI

Sunday Supper

Beef pot roast with italian herbs and vegetables, 

slow-cooked in a clay pot.

I make a couple of versions of pot roast, a French version based in butter and red wine and this Italian version based in tomatoes and herbs.  After searing the meat in a pan, it's placed on a bed of vegetables along with the sauce inside this fantastic clay pot.  The meat comes out tender and flavorful.  I love this cooking technique.  It's simplicity and sophistication combined. 

 

Another great thing about this dish. It takes just a few minutes to prepare then off to the oven it goes for a few hours to stew.  What will I do with this free time?    

The Nook

I lived in solitude in the country and noticed how the monotony of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind.

Albert Einstein

I have many favorite areas in our home, indoors and out.  However, I always seem to gravitate towards this corner, facing south where the sun shines brightly and the cool breeze blow.  If you ever wonder where I take solitude from the daily grind--- to nap, to read, to knit, to daydream, to blog for that matter, here's where you'll find me... in my nook. 

Hope you're having a restful Sunday afternoon.

Chicken Adobo

What's for dinner tonight? Remembering a request from my neighbor and friend back in June, I decided to cook adobo and measure the ingredients....

For Kristi

There are many versions of the adobo dish. At least for the Filipino version, each household has their own way of cooking it.  This is my very simple and easy version.  I used boneless chicken because that's what my hubby prefers but I think it's best otherwise.

Chicken Adobo 

Prep time: 5 mins.

Cooking time: 30 mins.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp canola oil

6 garlic cloves (chopped)

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast (washed and cut into small pieces)

1 small sweet onion (julliened)

2 tbsp vinegar

3 tbsp soy sauce

1/4 tbsp peppercorn

1 1/4 c water

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 tbsp dark brown sugar 

Instructions:

Using a large pan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until light brown in color. Increase the heat to medium high and add the chicken, saute until browned well.  Decrease the temperature back to medium heat.  Add the onion, vinegar, soy sauce, peppercorn, water, bay leaves and stir.  Simmer for 15 mins. Add the sugar. Simmer for another 15 mins. until chicken is cooked. 

(Depending on how small or large you'll make this dish, the trick is to find the balance between the vinegar and soy sauce; adding sugar and water in between if you find it too sour or too salty.)

Serve with white rice. Enjoy!

Twilight

But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,

thou shalt not eat of it:

for in the day that thou eatest thereof

thou shalt surely die.

Genesis 2:17

PREFACE

I'D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD die--- though I'd had reason enough in the last few months--- but even if I had, I would not have imagined it like this.

   I stared without breathing across the long room, into the dark eyes of the hunter, and he looked pleasantly back at me.

  Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved.  Noble, even.  That ought to count for something.

   I knew that if I'd never gone to Forks, I wouldn't be facing death now. But, terrified as I was, I couldn't bring myself to regret the decision. When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it's not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.

  The hunter smiled in a friendly way as he sauntered forward to kill me.

Twilight

Stephenie Meyer, Author

I'm not a fan of reading dark novels, yet along about vampires, but I found myself picking this up thanks to much persuasion from Len.  I was bitten...  The Twilight saga now has my full attention.    

You've Got Mail

There's something special about receiving old fashioned mail via the U.S. Postal Service. I really take delight in walking down our front steps and opening our mailbox; rummaging amongst the unsolicited mail and stacks of catalogs, and finding the occasional letters, notes, and postcards that many of you often send. That was the case this weekend. A note from a dear friend was waiting for me there. The sweetest little thing which traveled over 2000 miles away brought a smile and joy to my heart.

So here is where it was...

and here is where I sat...

reading my mail.

Letter writing is the only device for combining solitude with good company.

Lord Byron

River Sky

"It feels like September in August..." that's what the Mr. said to me as we rolled down our car windows and took a drive out...  We meant to spend the weekend at the lake which we normally do around this time in the summer but the weather forecast of cold air and rain forced us to stay in town.  I rather enjoyed the chill in the air this weekend, it made me anticipate autumn and all the warm and cozy things it brings, but it is too soon for the sun to disappear so quickly.  I don't want the days to get shorter just yet.  There are still many more things to enjoy outdoors like picnics at the park, canoeing in the river, walks to the Farmer's Market, outdoor cafes, barbeques in our yard, enjoying iced tea on the adirondack chairs, people watching, gardening, oh the gardening! Shall I go on?

Cornfield in a neighboring town.

Watching canoers pass by.

The mighty Huron River.

Red Sunflower

Bring me then the plant that points to those bright Lucidites swirling up from the earth, And life itself exhaling that central breath! Bring me the sunflower crazed with the love of light.

Eugenio Montale

Sunflowers bring so much beauty and light in the garden. I plant them every year. Although this year instead of the bright yellow sunflowers, I grew the dark red ones (some appear to be brown and black), they're gorgeous! Their velvety appearance reminds me of the rich and colorful autumn season. I think Mother Nature is already whispering the coming of fall. Not yet please...

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

I know, I know, what on earth am I doing with more tomatoes?  I harvested what I think is the last batch of cherry tomatoes from the garden.  Inspired by the 'Cherry Tomato Heaven' post I read from my favorite online journal: My Messy Thrilling Life, I could think of nothing better to do with them but roast 'em! Thanks to Brin.  

  

  Rinse, slice in half, and scoop out seeds.

Add garlic and sprinkle with sea salt.

Bake at 200 degrees F.

This batch took about 5 hours to dry.

Ooops, I forgot the basil for additional sweetness. 

Using a cute little bottle that's been sterilized, fill it with the dried tomatoes and garlic (minus the late dried basil), followed by extra virgin olive oil. I use one that is light and delicate.

Tah Dah!

The final product.  

This will be enjoyed as a dipping oil and to top pasta dishes.

(Note to self: A must add to my list of homemade gifts.)

Skopelos Island, Greece

Okay Jean, I totally agree with you on this location.  I have to admit I only went to see Mamma Mia due to your recommendation of seeing the view.  You weren't kidding, it was absolutely breathtaking!  I desperately tried to search for a still picture of the opening scene (Sophie on a boat under the night sky returning to the island singing 'I Have a Dream'...), very difficult to find.  That was the most memorable part of the movie for me.  The moment I heard her sing, I knew I would be drawn to her world.  (Unfortunately, the movie still did not  succeed in making me into an ABBA fan.  Although I was familiar with every song, it's still not my cup of tea. : )

If I knew this chapel existed, we would've had a destination wedding!

Ahh, to be a bride again...

Photos courtesy of Mamma Mia

and the Winner is...

Hurray for Melissa (and Marcella's kakagaawohnwoowooth)!  

Well, she guessed the closest without going over. 

16 July 2008

Welcome Baby Emma!

Isn't she darling?

Beautiful baby girl Emma arrived on July 16th.  

She is a healthy 7 lbs. 12 oz and 19 3/4 long.   

Mere Christina et Pere Nicolas are blessed parents!

Congratulations to the new famille!

Ten Little Fingers, Ten Little Toes

Like mother, like daughter.

Proverb

A little joke between her mother and I.  : )

I think her feet are adorable!

She has long beautiful features...

Christina is already the loving and nurturing Mom we all knew she would be (same goes for Dad Nicolas too!).  Although Christina had a healthy delivery and Emma was doing great at birth, they shortly discovered that Emma had pneumothorax . Since being treated a couple of weeks ago, she was discharged with the use of oxygen until her lungs are back in perfect health.  We visited the little one over the weekend.  She is energetic, has quite the appetite, and oh so beautiful!