... and a Happy New Year:2009!

Pinoys would know the significance of the photo above. We have always these during New Year: hint - round things; to usher every New Year.

Whew it's hot outside: 38 degrees C! Now this is summer... but a tad too hot for me...

Received a pps of Celine Dion's rendition of "Happy Christmas":

"So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear ones

The old and the young a very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one!"

Exactly my sentiments... let us hope the coming new year is better than the last... and what have I done... err... Have a Happy New Year!

Again, Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year from the boys!

Just could not resist publishing this photo of the boys!

Every occasion, my daughter usually whips out her digi-cam (she has a new Canon 860 IS) and create personalised cards. Cost: about 20 cents per copy (postcard size) to develop and lots of creativity and love. She even creates a personalised gift cards for each of the boys!

Photo above and below by Rea.

Happy Holidays & Merry Christmas To All

Well this is a most appropriate wear for a downunder Christmas - singlets. As most of you are aware, Oz is in the southern hemisphere and is "summer" here, hence the singlet outfits.

"Summer" in quotations since it is not that hot... actually the forecast is rain - so the traditional Aussie Christmas day lunch at the beach is somewhat in peril. But as most Aussie can testify, a rainy day won't dampen any Chrissy celebration... I know it won't in my clan.

We traditionally celebrate Christmas mid-night dinner as most Europeans do, so an indoor venue would do. The celebration and food is a mix tradition of sorts: Oz settings and weather, Pinoy foods with the ube (purple yam) pudding/cake; pan de sal (Pinoy bread) and my wife traditional dishes of gallo de gallego soup (Pinoy style as handed down by the Spanish via Cavite: instead of ham hocks and corn for callos, beef and/or chicken and beef bones, pasta shells, carrots, potatoes and onions); pork barbeque in bamboo skewers and menudo (again Pinoy style). With some western traditional fares of ham and turkey (we don't have Thanksgiving Day, hence the chance to have some turkey!).

Definitely the toys for the kids occupy a central place under the Christmas tree and my daughter at the moment is still convincing her boys to sleep and be awakened for the midnight Chrissy gift openings. Cool for both kids and adults, Australia is one of the first countries to celebrate Christmas and we are obviously also the first ones to open our gifts! The Anglo Aussies will have to wait for Christmas morning, while the kids will have some more gifts to open from their Ninongs and Ninangs (Godparents).

As always, this time is for family and friends to share the joys of Christmas, to share whatever we can especially with those who are more in need. Let us therefore enjoy and celebrate these holidays but always keep in our minds and hearts the "needs and wants of others". Life is best shared with others, not just with friends and families.

In awe at Seaworld

The kids faces says it all. They are so in awe and so are all of the adults, whether they've seen the Shamu "show" for the first time or not. See photo below, who wouldn't be in awe?

Aiyee meditating

Kids learn so much just watching TV, Aiyee must have been watching one of those Kung Fu cartoons and manage to learn the benefits of meditation.

Shown above meditating; which he confirmed when asked, under one of the various sculptures at the Embarcadero Marina Park in San Diego. Must be the stress of travelling!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

The boys spend their day today, Friday, 21 Nov 2008 at Legoland with their parents; who jetted from NY just last night. Saturday is Charles birthday and who knows where the kids are taking their dad for his b-day bash.

A visit to Jollibee

It is fairly obvious that the kids love Jollibee, both the mascot and the food. As we don't have any Jollibee in Oz, the kids were excited to see the familiar Jollibee mascot and had a photo op before eating their orders of burgers and fried chicken.

I believe Jollibee is one of the first fast foods chain expanded internationally: in 1986 in Taiwan and followed in most US cities.

At San Diego Harbor: Embarcadero

Taken at The Embarcadero (Spanish for 'landing place") Marina Park along the San Diego Harbor (California). In the background is one of the US Navy ships sailing on the way out to sea, a common sight in this "navy town".

"The Embarcadero Marina is a quarter mile long boardwalk and connects the Embarcadero to Seaport Village and the Convention Center. The Embarcadero Marina is actually an arm of land that reaches into the San Diego Bay, enveloping the shiny white boats moored at the edge of Seaport Village." 1

The boys enjoyed playing in the park.

Happy Birthday Dy!

From all of us! May you have more birthdays to come...

Family portrait on Vegas strip

At Stratosphere

Aiyee and Jay veging out at our room at Stratosphere, as usual watching cartoons on TV.

Touchdown Vegas!

As if one would not notice landing at Vegas with all the casinos in view from the airport!

Happy Birthday Rea!

Nothing is more fitting for my daughter, Rea to celebrate her birthday in Las Vegas, not that she gambles. On the contrary she does not gamble at all, she rather spent her money shopping - and Las Vegas is famous for shopping. Not your ordinary mall or outlet types, but your signature labels and not that she could afford those as well; just window - wish shopping.

For her birthday, she managed to score a Burberry bag for her birthday from hubby, Charles. She reckons; and she always does, that it is significantly cheaper here than in Oz - always!

They are heading to NY for more, hopefully just sightseeing and vacation. What a way to spend one's birthday.

Happy birthday sweetheart!

Jay, Aiyee and Kallen at LAX

Just the boys saying "Hello" from LAX while enroute to Las Vegas for Lola Julia's 50th Wedding Anniversary.

The boys did enjoyed the beaches in Honolulu with Lolo Cesar and Lola Lita, with cousins Czar and Lyra.

Also see Pappy's LAX early morning shoot... not that good though.

Facebook tee

I love this photo of Kallen with his cheeky Facebook t-shirt:

"they're not my parents, we met on Facebook!"

Be wary of what you post on your facebook as your potential and present employer might be reading them. Not that Kallen needs to worry at this stage... he's just worried with his parents at the moment!

June 3

Picture taken by Rea of Nanay Olive with Jaylen in my induction dinner and dance. Incidentally they were both born on the same date - June 3.

Day out at Coogee

Photo by Rea. Jaylen "burying" Aiyee.

This spring weather is becoming more like summer everyday. Good in a way, kids can enjoy going to the beach again - even for another four months or so.

Photo was taken during one of the boys' playgroup outing at Coogee Beach:

The name Coogee is said to be taken from a local Aboriginal word koojah which means "smelly place", or "stinking seaweed", a reference to the smell of decaying kelp washed up on the beach. Although at certain times large quantities of seaweed are still washed up, it is usually removed before it gets a chance to stink."

As most things Australian, important places have Aboriginal names and link to these original inhabitants.

Ice Cream at Town Hall

Honey enjoying a low-fat, "healthy" ice cream treat on the way home from the city (Town Hall rail station in the middle of the Sydney CBD.). I recalled she let me have a couple of bite of that yummy ice cream!

project551 - Charles & Kallen

Taken with Rea's new Canon IXUS 860 IS for project551.

Focal lenght: 4.6mm, F-number: F2.8, Exposure time: 1/60 sec

Family self portrait - Funny Faces

That's my usually lovely daughter and her family having fun with her new Canon IXUS 860.

Honey circa 1979

One of Honey's numerous portrait taken by me. This was taken at Tadlac, Los Banos, Laguna on the shores of Laguna de Bay. I scanned this for posterity.

Ashlee's drawing

This is Ashlee's family on paper.

Kallen's new line

Kallen says "I am telling...." whenever his brothers annoy him.

Kallen skateboarding

Kallen's version of "body skateboarding".

Informal Photo Shoot - Pappy & Honey

Honey bought her Indian outfit in Suva, Fiji for this "dressed up" dinner.

Project551 - Kimi

Project551 - Kallen and Ashlee

Please save the whales for us! Project551 or Pappy's blog.

Project551 - Jaylen

See project551 or my blog. Save the whales...

Ready to take off

One, two, three...

Superboys

What's a couple of sarongs and a large pillow case and three boys can do on a Saturday morning?

Play supermen of course! With Honey's new couch as a take off point... Honey!

Ashlee's Pose: Muscles

"Look Pappy", says Aiyee, "look at my muscles!"

Here's another pose... he looks like one of those boxers posing before a title fight!

Yes you've guessed it, he loves punching and running around and kicking.

Kallen's Pose: Discovering "pockets"

Well Kallen just discovered the nice and warm feeling of his hands in his pockets.

Whenever Honey comes over, he will quip: "Honey, look pockets!"

Such simple joys which makes kids "kids". The joy of discovering something pleasant for the first time.

Character Posings

The boys are pretty much use to me whipping my trusted point and shoot digicam to take their picture. Invariably they would do their pose without being coached, one such picture is above. There is something in their chosen pose that reflects something in their character, or in this stage of their life. I guess they are much more like adults now.

Pizza Boys

Honey, who loves to cook is training the boys to cook pizza. While not strictly from scratch, at least "assembling" the ingredients from supermarket available items. It would probably have been cheaper to buy from the local Pizza Hut store, but the joys of making the pizza is much more rewarding.

Honey's Pizza:

1 X Bazaar (or equivalent brand) single serve 3 gourmet pizza bases (if not available, try using Lebanese bread)

1 X Coles 500g (or equivalent brand) shredded mozzarella cheese

1 X Ardmona 405g pizza sauce (Tomato paste mixed with ketchup and water will be a good substitute, mix to right pizza sauce consistency.)

Toppings: sliced salami, shredded ham. You can go crazy on this and have pineapple chunks, smoked salmon, cooked shrimps, canned asparagus, anchovies, vegetables, etc. Obviously kids like the basic ham, cheese and pineapple combination.

Follow the instruction on the pizza base package. Otherwise it is just a matter of simply spreading tomato sauce on the pizza base, putting the toppings and lastly; to hold everything together, add the shredded cheese. It does not have to be mozzarella, it could be tasty or what is available. Being inventive is half the fun.

Next, simply preheat oven to 220 centigrade, brush baking tin with vegetable or olive oil and bake the pizza for eight to ten minutes, or until crisp and golden as desired. A good indication is when the cheese is melted! Just make sure you don't over baked as it will burn and leave a nasty taste.

Be as creative by using what is available in your pantry; like at one instance, in a friend's house I saw her kids using slice bread, tomato ketchup, onions, shredded ham and cheese and just using the griller to melt the cheese. Presto!

Other hints and tips:

For extra crispy base, preheat oven to 220 centigrade and lightly grease pizza pan with olive oil.

For a basic pizza crust, brush olive oil on the pizza base and spread with crushed garlic, add herbs if available or desired. Bake in oven for eight minutes or until brown and crispy. Serve with your favourite dip.

Mine is simply with hommus (just your basic cooked and crushed chickpeas, olive oil, sesame seeds paste, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and sugar to taste in a blender); or even with store bought salsa dip.

Bruschetta, prepare as described above and topped with fresh (de-seeded) diced tomato and spanish onion. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Add ground pepper or chillies if desired, or to taste (again for adults!)

Enjoy!

Father's Day 2008 and beer glass sizes

That's my Lowenbrau litre bier glass from the staff of The Bavarian Bier Cafe at Parramatta. It was an unexpected gift and I was thinking of buying a souvenir and this beer glass is the perfect memento.

I have a collection of beer glasses, (mostly schooner size (425 ml) or pints in other states) with logo of the establishment. This is my first litre size beer glass.

It is interesting to note that while in most countries there is only a glass of beer or a mug, Australia, New Zealand and the UK has some interesting names for different beer glass sizes.

There is the glass (or butcher, six, seven or bobby; depending on which state you are in), which is 200 ml. Then the middy (again different in most states or territory) which is 285 ml.

In an article by the University of New South Wales:

"The Australian dialect of English is remarkable for having virtually no regional variation over the entire continent. However, there's one place that regional terminology runs rampant: the Pub. You can always pick a "foreigner" because they come in and ask for a beer using the wrong glass name or the wrong brand (although the big commercial brands are pretty much national nowadays)."

By the way, my Father's Day post is here. I had a great time to say the least... thanks to Rea, my daughter; Honey who claims I am not her father and to the staff of the Bavarian Bier Cafe (a favorite place, beer and coffee!) for the beer glass.

New addiction to...

... sunflower seeds. Like a bird that needs feeding, Honey is addicted to these sunflower "butong bulaklak" like anything. This one is even coconut flavoured!


I don't know the why and the wherefore, but I was getting addicted to it as well! Imagine sitting in front of the telly with a bagful of these seeds. The only thing with this particular brand and type is that it is not too salty, hence one does not have that sore lips from too much salt much like the Pinoy's local "butong pakwan".


Border security should confiscate these. Help!

Goodbye to ...

... cold nights.

... heavy winter coats.

... very cold mornings.

... cold morning showers (even with hot water!).

... fireplace (which I don't have at this house) and heaters.

Sleepovers and TV Shows

Picture taken while one of Jay and Aiyee's friend, Kiara slept over during one of the kids' school holidays.

As usual they are watching TV, but as they get older their taste turns from cartoons to more TV shows reflecting their ages; like High School: The Musical. It just shows how fast these kids grow up.

Jaylen On cooking TV shows: Honey and I usually watches either travel or cooking shows (or lifestyle) on Foxtel cable.

Jaylen: "Honey, why are you watching that (cooking show)?

Honey: "So I can learn how to cook."

Jaylen: "Honey, everytime I watch that it makes me hungry!" And walks away.

Aiyee on the Beijing Olympics: Honey and Aiyee were watching the weightlifting event.

Aiyee: "Honey, what is he doing?"

Honey: "Oh he is lifting the weights."

Aiyee: "Why is he doing that?"

Honey: "So he can get gold medal!"

Aiyee: "I am not going to do that."

Aiyee: "I am just going to do swimming! Like this Honey... " Demonstrating how he would swim.

So there is still hope that one of my grandsons will be in future Olympics, but don't bet on Aiyee will be lifting weights.

Kallen on TV, even while half sleeping.

Kallen: "Look Honey, look!"

Kallen: "Power Rangers Honey... SPD, I want SPD!"

Playing with Nintendo DS

Isn't Aiyee looks so grown up and cool! What a poser... He is cute though!

Some Saturdays

Some Saturdays, the boys will spend sometime with us by sleeping over the Friday night. In the morning, we will have our usual cappuccinos, while the boys will have baby chinos, which is just steamed and frothy milk.

Then we will have either eggs and pan de sal or Spanish bread from our favorite Pinoy bakery, Starlight Bakery. But most times the kids love my pancakes, as the case here with Kallen!

Pensive Hood

Aiyee in his pensive mood, either that or he is already hungry. This is the same day that they went to the museum and we were just waiting for his mom and dad at the King Street Wharf.

I was going to meet up with them at the museum but was "banned" from going. I guess I have this notoriety for spending too much time at the museum. But my daughter said it is their "family time". Good, I was able to spent time around Sydney CBD and shot some photos.

Our shadows, while feeding these pesky sea gulls!

Coke Addicts

A month ago the kids were treated to their first Australian Museum visit, with the Dinosaurs Just Moved Into Sydney “650 square metre” exhibition. As any other kids, they loved dinosaurs.

After which we met them for lunch at Wagamama at King Street Wharf. That is where the picture above was taken. The kids just guzzling their cokes served in this retro coke bottles.

After lunch, we went into Darling Harbour for a walk, ice creams and mini-train rides. What a day...