just a note

Hello Zarah,
How are you doing today? I am sorry I haven't been able to post anything on our blog these past weeks. I have been unable to open blogger for quite some time. I gave it a try today at the office and it opened. I will try to post some new entries again when I get home.

This will be for now. Have a good day. Take care, always.

Mama, para sa tabi!

Dear Sam,

Guest what?

Your jeepney postcard has arrived. I found it waiting for me at the Post Office (where I am renting a PO box). Thank you, thank you. Here it is, no wear, no tear :)

You'd be happy to know that I featured this postcard in my Postcards Crossing blog. It is a great addition to my Filipiniana collection. Go ahead, have a look!

So, how are you these days? I've seen you aren't blogging as well. As for my situation, for some reason, I could not login anymore to YahooMessenger to chat. I don't know what went wrong. As you know, I'm using Ubuntu-Linux as my operating system. It is a totally different system from Windows but definitely better. The only downside is that I cannot use several programs that are on Windows, and that includes Yahoochat :(

So sorry about this. I hope we can find an alternative to get in touch. Meanwhile, we still have this blog to update (if you're still up to it) or Facebook.

Hear from you soon.


ZJ

Sunday Stealing: The Meme from Suburbia (ZJ's post)

Today we ripped off a blogger named Another Suburban Mom from the blog Another Suburban Mom. It is 20 questions, She says she got it from Dana. But, it was probably stolen there as well. So, of course, that will be as far as we go. Tracing back our theft's thieves might take some time. Take the time to comment on other player's posts. It's a great way to make new friends! Link back to us at Sunday Stealing!

Sunday Stealing: The Meme From Suburbia

1. What were you doing 10 years ago?

Ten years ago I was a very active advocate of environmental conservation in a country not mine. Those was the time I began travelling around Cambodia and several countries in Asia, talking about state of Cambodia's environment and what my organisation is doing to address this issue.

 2. By this time next year, I ...
... would already have an ankle-biter in tow and go on playdates.

3. Do you think the United States will elect a female President in your lifetime? Do you think this would be a good thing?
I'm not sure about answering this one because I am not an American, but from where I am from, I have seen two female presidents already. Although I cannot really say much about their performances while they were in position, I can say that it is good for the women's movement.

4. Which fictional, TV show character you would shag anytime?
Who's that sexy guy in the American TV series Spartacus? Manu Bennett?Oh yeah.

5. Who is your greatest enemy?
I, Me, and Myself. 

6. Tell me about your most recent trip of more than 100 miles?

We left very early in the morning, around 5.30am, and I was still half-awake. Naturally, I slept the whole time till we reached our destination, waking up only during the scheduled bus stops to go to the loo.

7. Which do you use more often, the dictionary or the thesaurus?
I use both when doing my reports.

 8. Do you have a nickname? What is it?
The Sarge. I don't know why but perhaps my colleagues think I always want to be in charge.

9. What are you dreading at the moment?
That Andy Murray is going to lose this finals match to Novak Djokovic in five sets. Can you tell that I'm watching tennis now? It's the men's finals at the Australian Open, as I write this.

10. Do you worry that others will judge you from reading some of your answers?
I don't let other people tell me what I should and should not do. In the same vein that I don't let what they think of me hinder me from doing what I want to do. I like answering memes and the I don't care if they don't like what I write here.

11. If you find an outfit you love, but the size on the label is larger than you want, do you buy the outfit? Why or why not?
Of course not. Would you? I mean, it won't make sense at all. Just find another style that has your size and go buy it.

12. Even the biggest slackers are anal-retentive about something? What are you anal-retentive about?
I tend to have rituals before doing something.  I have a system for doing things inside the house or at the office and don't want anyone to do it or mess with it unless I'm away.

13. Out of all the books you read as a child, which one had the biggest influence on how you are today?
The Arabian Nights. I was fascinated with tales of the genies and traders and travelling to far-off, unimaginable places.

 14. Which Golden Girl would you want to spend a night on the town with?
Hmmmm. Maybe the feisty Estelle Getty.

15. What is the one product you would never buy in its generic form even if the generic is half the price?
Food products is all I can think of.

16. How old were you when you stopped believing in Santa?
Old enough. Maybe 9-10yo.

 17. What is the one smell that turns your stomach without fail?
The smell of something rotten and body odour, of course.

18. If someone holds out a carton of milk to you and asks you to sniff it to see if its spoiled, do you?
Yes, I do, without a second thought.

19. You have a completely free day and $2000.00, What are you doing?
That's a lot of cash to spend in one day and I'm tempted to splurge. But I made a pledge to minimise spending and live contentedly with less. I'll probably dine out with my husband, watch a movie together, and keep the rest for the rainy days.

20. What is the most used item in your home?
I think it's the computer. My husband and I have one each.

Saturday 9: Stormy Weather (ZJ's post)

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Stormy Weather 

1) Do noisy storms scare you?

Yes, all the time. The last time I experienced a very strong storm (or typhoon in the Philippines) was in the year '95-'96 (can't remember exactly) and I can still remember the sound of the heavy downpouring rain and the howling wind that blew some of our neighbours' houses and toppled huge trees in our street. 

 2) Mother Winters tells us Lena Horne was considered one of the great beauties of the 1940s. Whom do you consider one of today's most beautiful women? 

I don't know how do you define "beautiful" so I cannot answer that directly. I have no idea as to what exactly is the formula to being beautiful. Is it the physical features,  the personality and character, or the values and principles that they believe in?

3) Crazy Sam admits it -- there's a big bag of recycling she really should take out to the bin. Yet she's composing this meme. What should you be doing, instead of answering her questions? 

I should be out there partying the night. But I caught this stupid stomach virus so I'm done for the night.

4) Sam may be crazy, but she's not stupid and will never waste her money on Cialis, no matter how many unsolicited emails she receives! What's the most recent addition to your spam folder? 

The most recent one I deleted is from a Canadian pharmacy offering a huge discount on slimming pills. I wonder if the spammer knows me personally, hahaha.

5) What was the last thing you cooked? 

I cooked eggs and made toast for breakfast. 

6) Do you remember the lyrics to your either your high school or college fight song? If so, please share a bit. 

No idea what a fight song is.

 7) "Samantha" is the feminine of "Samuel" and means "Listener." What's the derivation of your first name? 

Well, I tried to look it up but ended up with confusing info. One site says the origin of my name is Hebrew, while another says it's English. The meaning also varies, but refer to God - God is gracious  (Hebrew), or, God's gracious gift (English). There, feel free to choose. 

8) Are you following the NBA or NHL this year? If so, which team are you rooting for? 

Not much for NBA and NHL. I'm more of ATP and WTA follower (tennis).

9) Gloves, umbrellas, sunglasses, keys -- which of these do you misplace most often?
Keys and eyeglasses definitely! I have this knack for misplacing a lot of my stuff.

SATURDAY 9: STORMY WEATHER

Welcome to Saturday: 9. What we've committed to our readers is that we will post 9 questions every Saturday. Sometimes the post will have a theme, and at other times the questions will be totally unrelated. Those weeks we do "random questions," so-to-speak. We encourage you to visit other participants posts and leave a comment. Because we don't have any rules, it is your choice. We hate rules. We love memes, however, and here is today's meme!

Saturday 9: Stormy Weather

1) Do noisy storms scare you? No, I actually find it soothing. Some storms are meant to be noisy.

2) Mother Winters tells us Lena Horne was considered one of the great beauties of the 1940s. Whom do you consider one of today's most beautiful women? I consider my own mom as one of today's most beautiful women. Her inner beauty shines from within.

3) Crazy Sam admits it -- there's a big bag of recycling she really should take out to the bin. Yet she's composing this meme. What should you be doing, instead of answering her questions? I recycle as I go so there is really no problem in multi-tasking. I try to find time to do everything and anything, especially if it is as important as recycling and answering this meme. 

4) Sam may be crazy, but she's not stupid and will never waste her money on Cialis, no matter how many unsolicited emails she receives! What's the most recent addition to your spam folder? A mail from a ladies penpal site.

5) What was the last thing you cooked? I cooked CHICKEN BINAKOL for lunch today. It is a Filipino recipe for a soup that has chicken meat, young coconut and other spices.

6) Do you remember the lyrics to your either your high school or college fight song? If so, please share a bit. I'm sorry, I cannot really recall any fight songs from either my high school or college years.

7) "Samantha" is the feminine of "Samuel" and means "Listener." What's the derivation of your first name? My first name is Samantah, close to Samantha. I guess my first name also means "Listener".

8) Are you following the NBA or NHL this year? If so, which team are you rooting for? Yes, I try to watch the NBA if I get the time and I'm always rooting for the Houston Rockets.

9) Gloves , umbrellas, sunglasses, keys -- which of these do you misplace most often? None. I don't use gloves. I seldom use an umbrella. I have a pouch for my sunglasses and I place my keys either by the door or inside my handbag.

CHICKEN BINAKOL...FOR THE SOUL

Dear ZJ,

How about some CHICKEN BINAKOL for lunch?

I was able to cook this hearty soup dish for lunch today, January 26, 2013. It was relatively easy to make. All it took was to simmer together some chicken meat, sliced young coconut meat or buko, coconut water or buko juice, whole peppercorns, onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass or tanglad, tomatoes, finger chillies, chilli tops (or sili leaves) and a broth cube. I was able to find a recipe online for this dish. The recipe called for sauteing but I forego this method so as not to add more oil to the dish. I was not able to find kamias so I used tomatoes instead.

It was fun to watch and wait for this soup to cook. It took me about twenty minutes to prepare and about an hour to cook. Mom enjoyed sipping the warm soup. She also found it very flavorful, aromatic and very filling. She even said that I should cook it again.

It was like chicken tinola but with a twist since young coconut was added to it. By the way, the young coconut was brought this morning from an ambulant buko vendor for twenty pesos a piece. This version of the chicken binakol needed 2 buko. The rest of the ingredients were readily available from our ref. The lemongrass was from a neighbor's front yard and the chilli tops were picked from our garden. Mom cooked buttered fried rice to match the soup. It's always nice to have some hot soup once in a while.

I hope that you are having a happy weekend! Take care, always. Hear from you again real soon.

Sincerely,
Samantah

Friday Fill-ins

Lots of thanks and much love to my cousin for filling in for me last week (pun!) And...here we go!

1. Wow, this is awesome.
2. I love trivia.
3. Finally, I'm back to working again.
4. It's all right with me.
5. Sweet or savory: hot or cold.
6. My ballpens are new.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to posting in Friday Fill-ins, tomorrow my plans include catching up on my reading and Sunday, I want to re-arrange my closet!