Domestic Seafood Recipe

Today I can’t think of anything to eat but seafood. I haven’t had any kind of seafood in a while. One of my favorites is my mom’s buttered shrimp. It’s simply cooked with lemon soda then when its color turned pink and almost done, you just have to put half a stick of butter or depending on how many pounds of shrimp you are cooking. It’s so mouthwatering. I always eat it with steamed rice and broccoli. Yumm-o! One other thing that I am fond of eating is salmon. It has great benefits for our body too. It is low in calories and high in protein and has omega 3. Healthy and delicious as well!

Since I don’t know a lot of seafood recipes, I’d appreciate it if you’d share yours with me. I am tired of eating poultry and red meat, so trying new seafood recipes would be a nice change. Hey, we might be able to create and master a recipe that could give us a shot in the Great American Seafood Cook off. That won’t be a bad idea. Would it?

Speaking of Cook off, I’m calling all aspiring chefs out there. The Fifth Annual Great American Seafood Cook off is kicking off on August 2-3. This is definitely an event you wouldn’t want to miss! They are going to showcase at least 5 chefs and their domestic sustainable seafood recipes. The said event will be held in New Orleans Morial Convention Center. I am sure this is going to be a sizzling day!

Born in the 50s, 60s, 70s and early 80s

This article was originally posted by one of my friends in Friendster (Rochelle). I thought it was a good read. It made me smile as I remember doing some of it. :) I am sure all of you who were born in the above said decades can relate to it. So here it is... let me know what you think :)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ************* ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE

1950's, 60's, 70's and early 80's !!

First, some of us survived being born to mothers who did not have an OB-Gyne and drank San Miguel Beer while they carried us.

While pregnant, they took cold or cough medicine, ate isaw,and didn't worry about diabetes.

Then after all that trauma, our baby cribs were made of hard wood covered with lead-based paints, pati na yung walker natin, matigas na kahoy din at wala pang gulong.

We had no soft cushy cribs that play music, no disposable diapers (lampin lang), and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads , sometimes wala pang preno yung bisikleta.

As children, we would ride in hot un-airconditioned buses with wooden seats (yung JD bus na pula), or cars with no airconditioning & no seat belts (ngayon lahat may aircon na)

Riding on the back of a carabao on a breezy summer day was considered a treat. (ngayon hindi na nakakakita ng kalabaw ang mga bata)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle purchased from 711 ( minsan straight from the faucet or poso)

We shared one soft drink bottle with four of our friends, and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.

We ate rice with star margarine, drank raw eggs straight from the shell, and drank sofdrinks with real sugar in it (hindi diet coke), but we weren't sick or overweight kasi nga......

WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, and get back when the streetlights came on.Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan at taguan.

No one was able to reach us all day ( di uso ang cellphone , walang beepers ). And yes, we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our wooden trolleys (yung bearing ang gulong) or plywood slides out of scraps and then ride down the street , only to find out we forgot the brakes! After hitting the sidewalk or falling into a canal (seweage channel) a few times, we learned to solve the problem ourselves with our bare & dirty hands.

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 100 channels on cable, no DVD movies, no surround stereo, no IPOD's, no cellphones, no computers, no Internet, no chat rooms, and no Friendsters. ...... ...WE HAD REAL FRIENDS and we went outside to actually talk and play with them!

We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no stupid lawsuits from these accidents.The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,,,,ang sasabihin sa iyo..beh buti nga !

We played marbles (jolens) in the dirt , washed our hands just a little and ate dirty ice cream & fish balls. we were not afraid of getting germs in our stomachs.

We had to live with homemade guns " gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakitan. .pero masaya pa rin ang lahat.

We made up games with sticks ( syatong ), and cans ( tumbang preso )and although we were told they were dangerous, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay.paminsan minsan may nabubukulan lang.

We walked, rode bikes, or took tricycles to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them to jump out the window!

Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't pass had to learn to deal with the disappointment. Wala yang mga childhood depression at damaged self esteem ek-ek na yan. Ang pikon, talo.

Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang mga bata, hindi para makialam at makipag-away sa ibang parents.

That generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers, creative thinkers and successful professionals ever! They are the CEO's, Engineers, Doctors and Military Generals of today.

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.

We had failure, success, and responsibility. We learned from our mistakes the hard way.

You might want to share this with others who've had the luck to grow up as real kids. We were lucky indeed.

And if you like, forward it to your kids too, so they will know how brave their parents were.

It kind of makes you wanna go out and climb a tree, doesn't it?!

IT Certification

These days, you need to be a computer literate to have an advantage in getting a job. It doesn’t matter whether you are applying as a receptionist, a nursing assistant or even a factory worker. Everything now has something do to with computers one way or another.

My husband had his first IT certification way back in the late 90s. He took it when he was still working for CompUSA. He also has an A+ certification as a computer technician. However, so many has changed in the computer world since then. He hasn’t used his skills for a very long time now. That is one of the reasons why I have been convincing him to get another certification, preferably a Cisco certification. This is one way of refreshing, updating and furthering his knowledge and skills about the recent technologies as it is constantly changing. This would give him a more competitive edge should he decide to go back into the computer industry.

I myself have little knowledge about IT industry, but I believe that if I’d like a career change in the future, this is something worth considering. As soon as I am ready to go back to the work force, I am planning to get an IT certification, which I am sure will be very challenging, but I know the experts and experienced people from Cisco will help me in every step of the way. The possibility of getting a stable job in this field is definitely endless. So we will see how this one goes for me.

Why Don't We Like Dentists?

Last Thursday my hubby had an appointment with his dentist. That said day, he also made an appointment for our little kuletz here, which was earlier today at 3 p.m. This is his very first visit.

We went there in other words. However, the dentist wasn't able to check his teeth because he kept on crying. Oh well, he was able to count it thought. Kuletz would only open his mouth when his daddy tells him but as soon as the dentist touch his mouth, he'd close it and start crying again. I don't know what's with the dentist. Why don't we like them? I remember when I was a child, I don't like to go to the dentist too.. Is the sound of the drilling too scary or what?

We'll try again after six months. He's a bit older by that time, maybe he'll let them check his teeth. Let's wait and see.

Alzheimer's Memory Walk

In 1999, my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. To be honest, back then, not a lot of people know about the said disease and what causes it. Our family thought that it was just because of old age. We didn’t know that it’s a fatal brain disease that it even destroys brain cells which causes a person to lose their memory, affect their thinking capability and behavior. Believe me, it is not easy to see how your loved one being affected by a dreadful disease as such.

Up to this point, there’s no current cure for it. What we can do however is to help raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. How? Simply by joining the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in our community. As for us here, the closest is the Alzheimer's Memory Walk in Chicago, which is going to be held on September 14th. Incidentally, that’s my hubby’s birthday. I guess joining the Alzheimer's Memory Walk, together with our family and friends is a good way to celebrate his special day. It isn’t only fun, but also of good intention. Let’s make a difference! Walk with a purpose and move us closer to an Alzheimer’s free planet!

Update On My DL

As most of you guys know, I have been trying to get my driver's license for the longest... I practice every chance I get (which is like once in a blue moon ehehehe) That is one of the reasons why everytime I get on the road, it's like always my first time. Nervous as I can be... Last July 20th, I've had enough of it... I told my self that I am going to get this freaking road test no matter what... If I fail, I fail. I will get two more chances after that anyways. So on the 23rd, my MIL taught me how to parallel park, coz that's the only thing that I haven't done in any of my practices... She taught me the downhill, uphill parking etc... As expected, I didn't do well in parallel parking, but after a few tries, I did get a hang of it.

To make the story much longer ehehehe, on the 25th, my MIL picked me up from the house and I drove from Cal City to Chicago (in the expressway mind you). I am sweating so bad, nervous, I feel like I have tons of butterflies in my stomach that I feel like throwing up... My MIL is calming me down... She keeps on saying, "Roselle, relax, you're doing ok.. just stay in your lane and you'll be fine".

So, we got there safely. I went in to the DMV office (while MIL and kuletz were waiting in the parking lot). Waited in line to get a number. Finally, my turn came and I was surprised coz I didn't have to take the written test again and I didn't have to pay a dime... Why? Coz my permit wasn't expired yet (at least at that time, it actually expired yesterday). So I am thankful. The lady took the car's proof of insurance, and all my info etc... went to the cashier just for them to stamp my papers paid... then was asked to go to the road test area... At this time they asked me to have the car be brought to the said area, so I called my MIL...They asked me if I was the one taking the test, I said yes and was asked to hop in the car... they asked me to turn the right and left signal lights.. even asked me if I know the hand signal if my signal lights aren't working...

After waiting for a few minutes. A big old guy hopped in the passenger seat. He had some papers with him and checking items here and there. At this point, I wasn't even nervous about my driving anymore (coz I already drove the expressway to get there). What made me so nervous is the guy's look and expression. He's so serious and his face is so blank. As in you'll never guess what he's thinking. All he said is that, 'how you doin?' That's it! Then he finally asked me to move the car forward and gave me instructions on where to go... All you here is turn right...after the stop light turn left, turn left again, turn right at this street.. turn left at this alley and then back-up and turn left again..He also asked me to park uphill (I am not even sure if I get this one right ehehehe) That's all! Then he asked me to go back to the DMV facility and park the car. When I parked the car, he didn't say a word for like a few minutes... he's still workin' on the papers, checking here and there... After a few more minutes, I just can't help myself so I asked him... "How did I do sir?". He said, "You did OK" and paused... Then he said "Come with me and take a picture"... In my mind, I said, did he say take a picture.. ahhmmm a picture? Is that a good thing?... sounds like.. ehehehe So I went in with him, and made me sit down and wait (again) My MIL asked me how did I do.. I told her what the guy said... And she got so excited :) At that time I said, well, I guess I PASSED ehehehehe They called my name and took my picture and after a few minutes they gave me this:

This is also the new design of the IL driver's license... I don't know about the 106 lbs though eheheeh That info is like when I first got my state I.D. back in 2001 :D

Oh oh oh! One more thing about the DL, my MIL and I got excited that I after we left the DMV and went to a grocery store, I took one good look at my DL again and they actually made a mistake in my house number... So we went back to the office and had it fixed.. wew! But to be honest, when they gave the DL to me the first time, I did look at the addy and I guess because of my excitement, I missed it. Well, I am just glad it's over... My long overdue driver's license is finally in my hands... But I still need to have someone with me when I am driving, till I get very used to it... just to be on the safe side. :)

Well, that's all folks! Again, thanks for looking :)

Interesting Site

Come August one of my sisters is getting married to her Australian fiancé. I know that she’s very excited. They will be living in Dubai for a while and then eventually, they would settle in Australia. That sister of mine loves to shop. I am sure that productreview.com.au is going to be very useful once she’s staying in Australia already.

What is productreview.com.au? It is a site wherein consumers can rate and review services, products and even the shop that sells them. They have detailed product information and reviews from the un-biased users. You can find thousands of ratings and reviews from real experiences of consumers. Pretty interesting site if you ask me.

Foodie Tag!

This is a tag from Ms. Jan.. thanks much!!! Just like you, this tag made me hungry :D

1. Chicken sa McDo, Jollibee, or KFC?
- I prefer Popeye's Chicken... No Jollibee here and not much of a KFC fan

2. Pepsi, Coke, or rootbeer?
- Don't drink that much soda anymore... but if I do I prefer those soda with clear
color like Sprite, 7Up or Sierra Mist.

3. Greenwich, Pizza Hut, or Yellow Cab?
- Capri's ehehehe yumm-o!

4. Adobo, sinigang, or nilaga?
- All of 'em specially if its my nanay's

5. Beef, pork, or chicken?
- Chicken and beef

6. Starbucks, Coffee bean and tea leaf, or Gloria Jean's?
- none of the above

7. Cornflakes, Honey Stars, or Milo cereal?
- Cocoa pebbles or honey nut cheerios

8. Goldilocks or Red Ribbon?
- Both

9. Tokyo Tokyo, Teriyaki Boy or Rai Rai Ken?
- Rai Rai Ken

10. Take Out or Dine In?
- It depends... but most of the time, take-out

Since you looked... you are then tagged! Have a pleasant day!

Emuprofen

It has been three days now since we went swimming and I can still feel the muscle pain on my shoulders, arms and calves. Not to add the neck pain that I’m getting from sitting here in front of my computer doing data entry. Back home I used to have this painkiller cream that I put every time I am experiencing any kind of muscle pain, however, everybody in our house hates it cause they said it stinks.

Now that I am here in the States, I’d like to try something different. Something that is odorless, fast acting, and won’t stain your clothes. I believe Emuprofen topical ibuprofen cream is the newest in the market that can deliver all these. A topical pain relief cream that is composed of Emu oil, ibuprofen, glucosamine and MSM which can effectively relieves pain for any kind of muscle and joint pain, carpel tunnel, arthritis, ankle sprains and such. To learn more, visit emuprofen.com.

Interrogate Me (Tag)

Its been a while since I did a tag like this. I'd like to thank Jhona for tagging me. And for all of you who have tagged me, please give me a bit more time to get through to it.

So here it is... interrogate me :D

1.WHAT DATE IS IT?
:: 21st of July 2008

2. WHAT TIME DID U WAKE UP?
:: 7:30 am ... pretty early huh? :)

3. DID U GO SOMEWHERE YESTERDAY?
:: Yeah, My friend and I together with our kids went to the mall & grocery store

4. WHAT DID U DO THERE?
:: What do you think? Shop ofcourse :P

5. HOW OLD ARE U?
:: -ty5 years old :D

6. ARE U MATURE OR IMMATURE?
:: 50-50 :D

7. WHAT DOES U CALL UR MOM & DAD?
:: nay and tay

8. ARE U AN ONLY CHILD?
:: nope, I have a 2 siblings (both girls, we're the tres marias)

9. WHERE DO U GO SHOPPING?
:: just wherever we feel like goin'

10. DO U LIKE SCHOOL?
:: yeah... i like going to school but hate attending the classes ehhhehe

11. DO U LIKE BOOKS?
:: a little bit

12. DO U WANT TO GET MARRIED?
:: been married for 8 years and i dont wanna do it again ehehehehe

13. WITH WHOM?
:: MAF

14. ARE U SPOILED?
:: No I am not.

15. WHATS THE MOST FLATTERING COMPLIMENT U EVER GOT?
:: flattering? nothing in particular.. any compliment that i get seem to flatter me, even if sometimes i know it's just bola :D

16. ONLY GIRL/BOY IN THE FAMILY?
:: nope... we're 3 girls

17. IF U WERE TO MARRY A CELEBRITY, WHO WOULD IT BE?
:: Oh Geez! Tough question :)

18. WOULD U LIKE TO MEET Josh Hartnett?
:: Nope.

19. Where do u think your best friend is?
:: In the beautiful Islands of the Philippines, probably at sleep right now :)

20. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME U TALKED TO UR BESTFRIEND?
:: A few weeks ago... sched conflict

21. U THINKS SHE/HE NEEDS U NOW?
:: I am not sure.. maybe not... even if she's going through somethings right now, I know she's a toughy.

23. WHAT DO U WANT FOR UR BIRTHDAY?
:: anything that comes, i will be thankful

25. IF U WERE TO BUY A CAR , WHICH CAR WOULD IT BE?
:: It's either Rendezvouz or Pacifica... I don't know why :D

26. A DUET WITH HEART EVANGELISTA?
:: Nope...

27. DO U WEAR MAKE-UP?
:: Nah.. not necessary :P

28. WOULD U GET A TATOO?
:: Henna maybe... but not the permanent one

29. BELLY PIERCE?
:: Don't need it.

30. HOW MANY KIDS DO U WANT?
:: 1 is enough, but if we are gonna be blessed with 1 more (hopefully a girl) sure, why not.

31. DO U HAVE ANY HOMEWORK?
:: yeah... teach kuletz school stuff :)

32. ANY SONG THAT YOU'RE LISTENING?
:: none...

33. DO U BELIEVE IN SPELLS?
:: I am not sure if I do.

34. WHERE DO U WANT TO GO NOW?
:: Go swimming...it's hot here!

Smarter Solutions

Black Belt, Green Belt, Master Black Belt are just some of the trainings that Smarter Solutions, Inc. offers. It is part of their Lean Six Sigma training services. Lean Six Sigma is about business management strategy, which is probably one of the keys to a successful organization. This would also comprise a continuous effort in achieving stable success that goes beyond a Balanced Scorecard. Take a peek at their training calendar and learn more about their methodology at smartersolutions.com.

Goodtimes! (Part Two)

Here are some of the other photos taken last Thursday (July 17th). These pics were after the swimming. I am loving my more tanned skin ;).

There are more pics on my friendster account. If you wanna check it out, give me a buzz and I will add you up. :) Thanks for looking!

Health And Wellness Products

As you see I posted some pictures from our swimming last Thursday. It was fun but my arms, back and calves are sore. Why? Cause I haven’t done swimming in a while or any kind of exercise for that matter, so my muscles aren’t used to it.

I wish I have this one at home. Pretty cool huh?!

It sure would relieve my sore body. It is a massage chair from Takemi Select Wholesale Outlet. They also have massage beds, air purifiers, foot spas and a lot more product that has something to do with health and wellness.

Goodtimes!

Here are some photos from our swimming last Thursday. My kuletz was so happy and didn't want to get out of the water even if his body was shaking coz the water is a little cold.

kiddie pool

adult pool

McDo

Today, or should I say yesterday (I noticed it's past 2 a.m. already eheheeh) was Ashley's (my friend's daughter) birthday. As expected, Kuletz was invited. It was celebrated in McDonald's. There's not a lot of kids this time compared last year. Anyways, the kids enjoyed playing at McDo's playhouse. I am so thankful that I fed kuletz before we left the house, coz he didn't pay attention to the food. He just went in there to play. Although, he got excited when he saw the cake :). After singing the happy birthday song, after eating the cake (actually the icing) he went right back to the playhouse. I would like to post some pictures, but I will do that later on. Tomorrow, I mean, later, we will go swimming :) Will post pictures of that too.. so ciao for right now.. I need to get some sleep. Have a great day!

Park West Gallery

Swimming, going to fairs, amusement parks and festivals are the most common things that people do during the summer. What have you done so far? Do you want to do something different this time? How about visiting Park West Art Gallery in Southfield, Michigan or their affiliate location in Miami, Florida? Park West Art Gallery is known for conducting fine art auctions throughout the United States and Canada. They also conduct cruise ship auctions.

Take a glimpse of some of their featured artists’ work of arts such as Thomas Kinkade, Jean-Claude Picot, Charles Lee and Marcus Glenn. This is gonna be a good time to pay them a visit cause they are having a Summer Sale from oil and acrylic paintings, watercolors, collages, lithographs, etchings and more. You can get up to 45% off on more than 400 works!

Feels Like Holy Week

It's so freaking hot in the Chicagoland that it feels like Holy Week. (Same thing I am feeling when it's holy week back home). So far it's 88 degrees here and heard on the news that there's going to be a heat wave. Hope its not that bad coz it's not good for everyone, most specially for elderly people.

Even if the A/C is running you can still feel the humidity in the house. My source of relief is a slice of cold watermelon every now and then ehehehehe and of course shower. I'm telling you, the only thing I like about summer is you don't have to wear layer of clothing. I sure can't wait for the fall to come.

Affordable Frames

I can’t believe how the gas price keeps soaring. It’s in the news everyday. As a result, everything is very expensive. In addition to that, here in our county, they just implemented a tax hike on July 1st. I wonder if there’s still something we could buy that’s affordable. My question was answered when I found zennioptical.com. I was searching for an inexpensive but of good quality and stylish eyeglasses cause its time for me to get a new one. Surprisingly, their eyeglasses starts from $8.00, which, I am sure, you can’t find anywhere. They have stainless steel, titanium, rimless, full rim frames and more for everyone. Now, that is very pleasing to know that in this economy, we still can afford something.

I think this one is cute:

Shocking!

Yesterday afternooon, I was watching Inside Edition and was so shocked about a disturbing video wherein a teenager put the baby in an inflatable pillow and then kneeled hard on it catapulting the baby on the floor. Mind you the baby is, I believe just 9 month old. That is just so cruel. I was trying to look for the video on youtube.com but I couldn't find it. The baby was said to be left in the care of a babysitter and it was her son who did that cruelty (which he thought it was fun coz he was laughing in the video and so as his friend). Both teenagers are charged with cruelty to a baby and I think awaiting trial. And by the way, according to the mother of and the doctors, the baby is just fine (Thankfully).