Curbside Stories

It's 14 days left before Valentine's Day. Have you found your Frog Prince? I already have... sort of. He is safely slumbering inside a jar and is just waiting for me to wake him up. I don't need magic to turn this frog into a Prince. Click on the jump on how I will do it.

This happened while I was washing the dishes and my son was in the living room playing with his creepy crawler toys. My Son to Lizard: Go home now or else cockroach will eat you. My Son to Me: Mommy, the Lizard won't go away! Where does he live? Me to My Son: Don't worry he will go home soon. He lives just outside our house. My Son to Lizard pretending to be Cockroach: I will eat you, Lizard. Here I go! Funny sounds in the backdrop as if the cockroach is really eating the lizard... I should spend more time playing with my son and teaching him good stuffs because cockroaches don't eat lizards.  Last night, I tried to teach him The Lord's Prayer so that Jesus and Santa will be happy. He said, "I don't want them to be happy." I told him if they are happy, they will give him toys. He did not buy it, instead he said, "I already have many toys." He proceeded with the Prayer to the Guardian Angel and then said afterwards, "Jesus, please give...

I mentioned that my son was not allowed to eat at fast food chains... well, I took him there one time just because. And I wanted to know if he will really not eat. Obviously, he likes their food. I took this photo and posted it in my Facebook account and not longer after that, my grandma commented. He's caught in the act.

Hi! How's your Saturday?  Nothing too magnificent or odd happened today... I just cooked my son's favorite tinola (Chicken ginger stew) for lunch only to find out that we will go to my cousin's 18th birthday party at noon. We ended up not eating the tinola like what we had planned. On the brighter side, we had a feast. When I say feast, I really meant feast. My cousin served grilled chicken, pork barbecue, kare-kare and lumpia as the main entree and slices of sweet seedless watermelon for dessert. Yummy! Oh, I almost forgot, grandma cooked again her famous yellow rice which made us full big time. The tinola ... we had it for supper. If you want to try it, here are the ingredients: 1 whole chicken cut into small parts 1 small papaya or vegetable pear (sayote) cut into small pieces 1/2 cup chili leaves 1 chicken cube (optional) 1 onion, sliced 3 cloves garlic 1 small ginger cut into strips 2 tablespoons cooking oil 3 tablespoons fish sauce or patis 1.5 liters of wa...

I got so clumsy today that I sprained my right ankle. Now, I could not move around the house without watching my steps and reaching for something I can hold on to. Photo from A. D. A. M . Sprain is a medical condition wherein one or more of the ligaments of the ankle is over stretched, torn or partially torn. Sprains happen when the ankle rotates beyond its normal range of motion like what happens when you trip, you fall or jump and then you lose balance. There are three types of ankle sprain: 1. Inversion ankle sprain (this is what happened to me). This happens when the foot becomes too much inverted (you turn your foot inwards). In this type of ankle sprain, the lateral ligament--anterior talofibular ligament--of the ankle becomes over stretched. According to studies, 90% of ankle sprains are inversion type. 2. Eversion ankle sprain. This is the opposite of inversion. The medial ligaments become over stretched when this type of sprain happens. 3. High ankle sprain. This least...

Kids say the darndest things... No, it is not Bill Cosby's show in the late 1990s.  I say kids say the darndest things because my son said something that really amazed me and made me laugh. He's watching Monsters, Inc. when I asked him to hand me my hair clip from the cabinet. He immediately got up, reached for my clip and handed it to me. I said 'thank you' and I asked him what will he say next. I was expecting him to say 'welcome' but instead he said, ' maraming salamat sa Eat Bulaga !' (thank you very much to Eat Bulaga!). It's what contestants say whenever they win something from the show. Well, it's pretty obvious that my son's been watching a lot of noon time game shows. A few days ago, I asked him what's the title of the noon time drama he's watching and he said the title without hesitation. I guess I'll have to ask him what happened in the drama in case I miss an episode. Haha!

You have a heart of stone if you were not moved by the movie The Pursuit of Happyness. I saw this movie three years ago and I could still remember the many heartbreaking scenes. One particular scene that made me cry was the subway scene wherein he tricked his son to sleep in the men's toilet because they don't have a home. I really could feel Will Smith's emotions on that scene. The Pursuit of Happyness is my most favorite drama movie of all time.

My son's favorite Red Ribbon rice meal... Salisbury steak with mashed potato and corn and carrots. For this meal, you also get a glass of drink of your choice and a slice of their cake of the day. Whenever I take my son on a dinner date, we always go to Red Ribbon . It turned out to be our date place because our grandmother told my son that he's not allowed to eat at famous children's fast food chains. Being a smart boy that he is, he said he will just eat at Red Ribbon since our grandmother did not mention it on the list of 'not allowed'. Yummy Chocolate Fudge Cake that I got as a birthday gift from my office mates. Chocolate lovers will definitely enjoy this  sweet treat. I am choosy when it comes to cakes. I don't like cakes with mocha or has the buttery taste. My favorite is their Mango Cake... because I like mangoes. Last Saturday (which is my birthday), I got Black Forest  (thanks Allan) and Chocolate Marjolaine (thanks Leo)... divine! If you w...

T-bone steak and tuna sisig on sizzling plate! Yummy! These are just two of my favorite dishes at Country Side . My relationship with Country Side started when I was in college. It is just a small restaurant in front of the university where we usually have lunch... and where I usually spend my day's allowance. The interior of one of their branches. The main theme of the restaurant is the Wild West. They serve a wide range of Western dishes with a touch of Filipino to suit the palates of Filipino foodies. One of their best sellers is the T-bone steak with special mushroom sauce and buttered vegetables served on a sizzling plate. An order comes with a rice of your choice for the ultimate gastronomic experience. For Php130 per plate, it can be shared by two. Another best seller is their tuna sisig which is perfect if you are on a diet. Howdy Cowboy! If you happen to be in the Philippines, I recommend you sample Country Side dishes. For a list of their branches, click here ....

From here . Today, I thank everyone who made my birthday really special. I prepared some foods earlier this day for my relatives and friends. It went well and everyone that I expected to be there were there. It is my most memorable birthday yet. I turned 29 today. This is a momentous event in my life since next year I will be on my 30s. I could not believe how time flies so fast. Guys, thank you so much for always giving me reasons to live my life.

Haha! These made me laugh, cry and laugh some more. Good thing I do not enable the auto correct in my phone. THIS IS THE BEST! Damn You Auto Correct !!! Hahahahaha!

Photo from here . If I could turn back the clock, I'd turn it to the time when I was still a medical student. It's really my dream to become a doctor but due to some unavoidable circumstances, I had to stop. And stopping was the silliest decision I have ever made in my entire life. I am actually still regretting it. Whenever I remember how bad a decision it was, I just tell myself that if I pursued it, I wouldn't have had the most precious man in my life... my son.

I am no longer an Aquarius. I am now a Capricorn. How come? There's a new zodiac sign --Ophiuchus (November 30 to December 17). According to Explore Astrology , Capricorns are: "Very ambitious,  driven by the need for success, money, position and authority. Their career and succeeding in it is very important to them, so much so that they often prefer to be in charge. But despite their aspirations, they are also very grounded and practical people." Photo from here . I don't know if this change in zodiac sign has something to do with my moods recently. Ha! Capricorns also tend to suffer from bone and joint diseases like arthritis, rheumatism, and other orthopedic problems. I am osteopenic. Okay, this freaks me out. I checked the personality traits of Aquarius and it no longer matches mine. I guess I will have to live with being born under the Capricorn sign from now on. Thank goodness it is only in slum book that I will have to write my Zodiac sign. And ...

My son's nanny is his third and hopefully will be his last. She's just 21 years old, also with a son who just turned 1 and waits for his husband to come home once a week from his work in Manila. I hired her because of the recommendation of my grandmother and because I really need to have someone to look after my son while I work from 8 to 5. She's hardworking and doesn't complain if my son throws tantrums at her. Just this day, Mamalou (as my son fondly calls her) took my son to a play place while I was having a meeting with a client. I know that it is hard to leave your own child to work and I applaud her for making sacrifices to help her husband earn money for the family. Having her around makes life easier for me and I thank her for taking care of my son and loving him as if he is her own.  God bless you, Mamalou!

Today I thank my son's pediatrician who did not charge me for consultation. My son was sick since Wednesday due to cough and colds. I took him this afternoon to his pediatrician and he was given antibiotics and cough syrup. He is cordial and you can sense genuine care for his patient. He talked to my son about what he should not eat while he has cough as if he's talking to his own son. My son nodded to each reminder from his doctor as if he truly understands. God bless you, Doc!

I encountered this funny captcha while typing a comment for a blog post that I liked. Haha! In Filipino, peste means nuisance. Am I a nuisance? Haha! More funny captchas here .

Who could resist a Louis Vuitton and Gucci bag? No one! Especially if you could get it for FREE! Go ahead, click on the photo or this link .

Wanna know who gave it to me? Click on the jump.

Photo from here . If there is one thing I would like to try, it is to bungee jump. I am not really a thrill seeker, I just want to try it because everyone who has tried it said it was fun. I want to experience jumping from a high platform, feel the wind, experience gravity in its most powerful state, scream my heart out and to be pulled back by an elastic rope upside down.

I will turn a year older in just a few weeks and I am already making plans on how to celebrate it. My initial plan is to celebrate my son's birthday on my birthday since his falls on a weekday and mine is on a weekend. I am excited already. I am not going to have a big bash, I just wanted to celebrate it with my loved ones. And since it is my birthday, I think I deserve to at least make my very own birthday wishlist. I love reading books and one of the books I would like to have is the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series . I went to the bookstore yesterday but they do not have a stock. So, hopefully before this month ends, I can get my very own copy. You see, I would like to go back to being a child every once in a while. =) This is a weird item to have on a birthday but I love to cook so if I get a new cookware set , it would be highly appreciated. Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue is my most favorite perfume of all time. A refill would be nice. Haha! I have been using ...

I had a day of pampering and I love it! I think I should do it more often. I left the house at around 1PM after my Aunt took my son to their house to be a nanny for a day. I left 30 minutes after.  My hair before the liberating and much needed hair cut. It is dryer than the Sahara. It was not my plan initially to pamper myself from head to foot, I only planned to have a haircut. But, the moment I sat on the salon chair and a salon assistant gave me a back massage while waiting for the stylist, I said to myself I need to have a good body massage.  I am wearing my favorite cropped pants. The salon has a comfy chair, I can sit on it all day . The stylist snipped 6 inches of my hair... it was a liberating moment for me. Imagine having to dry my waist long hair each day... tedious! I could not understand why some people cry over cutting their hair short. Anyway, after 30 minutes of sitting in the salon, the stylist said I am good to go. My hair is still long but has laye...

We had a book study again, this time it is Tom Reilly's Value Added Customer Service: The Employee's Guide for Creating Satisfied Customers . It sounds complicated but it is not.  I learned a lot from this book. The book tells us that everyone is a salesperson and we all have our own customers.  The book also mentioned the nine universal rules of business which I think is a great tool to understand the ins and outs of marketing and selling. Here are the rules: 1. Every employee is a salesperson. Everyone in the organization sells something to someone. 2. Not everybody believes rule number 1. This rule has a relation to rule number 4. 3. Not everyone behaves according to rule number 1. 4. Every employee has a customer. 5. Value-added service is not a spectator sport. 6. Each value-added team member affects the creation of satisfied customers. 8. Value is personal, perceptual and performance driven. 9. Everyone must belong to something. The book also list...

Photo from here . The year 2011 is the year of the rabbit.  According to the Chinese zodiac, people who were born on the year of the rabbit are known to be articulate, talented and ambitious.  Rabbits are also known to be calm, sensitive and compassionate. They are also financially lucky (I think it has some association with their ability to reproduce). It is no wonder why the lucky colors of the year are green, orange and purple... the most common colors of paper currencies. If you are born on the year of the pig, sheep and dog (like me)--this year is your year!  So, make the most out this luck, pursue your dream of having your own business (talking to self) and remember that we will never know if we will fail or succeed unless we try. Have a prosperous new year!

Photo form here . My son and I, together with some relatives, made the most out the vacation.  Yesterday, we went to SMX at SM Mall of Asia to watch the Great American Circus.  It was our first time to watch a real live circus.  It's different from the one we see in peryas during fiestas. There were no live chicken eating, no disabled people featured as half mermaid-half human, no oddities at all--just amazing feats regular people can't do. We arrived at SMX an hour before the show, we waited in line for about thirty minutes before they opened the gates. The show features acrobats, daredevils--including the Guinness Book of World Records holder for crossbow, jugglers, clowns and a Michael Jackson impersonator.  The highlight of the show was the "Wheel of Death" where two people ran inside two rings just like a ferris wheel.  I really enjoyed watching the aerial dancers. If you want to try something different and see death defying stunts, you may still c...

I have forgotten about this challenge, but, better be late than never. I had the most memorable and productive year.  I know that what I had in 2010 is the result of my being optimistic.  So, if there is one thing (not really a thing) that I would really like my son to have, it is my being optimistic. I know that he is.  He doesn't give up easily on anything especially if it has meaning to him. I may not have the riches but the right attitude towards life is something that will make him survive the surprises of life.