WS #22: 4th Birthday
Yesterday, the 17th of August, was my Abby’s 4th birthday. It has been a family tradition, as far as Abby’s birthdays are concerned, to start the day with the candle blowing “ceremony”. She gets a real kick out of it! Hee hee. 
It doesn’t even really matter how the cake looks or where it was bought. It’s all in the blowing of the candles, really. We got the cake from Walmart the night before. It’s chocolate with chocolate buttercream frosting. There’s balloons, too! At $8.50, that’s a steal and it actually tastes good.
Aaaah, the perks of being a child. 
For now, Abby doesn’t have to worry about rent, tuition, savings accounts, etc. But that’s not to say she’s not slowly being taught the value of things.
I have another WS entry HERE. Have a great week ahead! Cheers!
Weekend Snapshot | Comments (4)
PH #20: Colorful Kissables
I had to double check if the photo I intended to use for this week’s Photo Hunt theme hasn’t been use in any one of my previous Photo Hunt entries yet. Well, I’ve used it all right, but not on this site. ;) That means, I can very well recycle it. And here it is…
How’s that for color? :D These are like kiss-shaped M&Ms. The colors are so vibrant these sweet treats could very well double as a fashion designer’s color pallette, say, Oscar de la Renta, for example. :) Since I’ve already recycled one photo, I might as well recycle one more…
Are you in the mood for candy bowling? Hee hee!
I have coloful pics from Universal Studios Hollywood here, my other Photo Hunt entry. Visit other photo hunters here.
Have colorful weekend!
Guilt Snacks, Photo Hunt | Comments (12)
Kids’ Food Fear Factor
I got this tag from my fellow Wifespeaks wifeys, Em and Maver.
Hubby and I love to eat. And it doesn’t come as a surprise that our sheer love for food has rubbed off on our daughter, Abby. Abby will eat anything I put on the table…vegetables, fruits, meat, fish, etc. Like me, Abby has a sweet tooth, too. I can’t say that there’s a food that Abby “fears”. For me, the strangest food (if you can even consider it food) she just has a blast devouring, it’s the batter for baked goodies that’s left on the mixing bowl. Here she is in all her mixing-bowl clean-up glory (I’ve posted these pics before but they’re worth reposting, if I may say so myself!)…
Tags/Memes | Comments (3)
Orlando Realtors
We’ve been hearing a lot of people say that if one has the money, now is the best time to buy real estate here in the US. In the mail alone, we’ve been receiving a lot of offers for real estate properties, even ones located in Orlando, Florida! And even if we were looking for an Orlando realtor, it’s not like we will go with the first overly eager agent who just happened to send us flyers and brochures. There’s such a thing as Clicksmart and “Clicksmart Certified Expert”, you know.
Clicksmart is an on-line directory of small businesses which were pre-screened for quality and experience: from contractors, to florists, to wedding specialists and so on. That way, consumers only deal with professionals of the highest quality. That’s less stress and a lot of time saved, don’t you think?
Milk & Honey | Comment (0)
WW #22: Steak ‘n Shake
Grilled Chicken Breast Sandwich
Side-by-Side Milkshake: Vanilla and Coffee Mocha…because I can’t make up my mind.
Jr. Chicken Fingers ‘n Fries
Everything tastes even better than it looks. You can quote me on that. ;)
Busy bees here, my other WW entry. More WW here.
Enjoy the rest of the week! Cheers!
Restaurants, Wordless Wednesday | Comments (9)
Lechon de Leche
The last time I ever saw a whole lechon de leche was in December 2006. A good friend of ours gifted us with the erstwhile “star of Filipino feasts” as a going away present. :D Here in the US, lechon de leche is not very common, and for very obvious and understandable reasons. For one, it is very expensive. It costs more than $200.00.
At the double birthday celebration of a dear friend and his dad in Dallas last Saturday, we were thrilled when the lechon made its way to the dining table. Abby was double thrilled! She can’t quite believe that there’s a pig right smack in the middle of the dining table. Hee hee. She enjoyed the crispy skin of the lechon. So did I! I conveniently forgot that I’ve been avoiding pork since February. Oh well.
The lechon’s ears are missing. But nobody really cared. Hee hee.
It doesn’t taste nearly the same as the ones we have back home. But when you’re thousands of miles away from home, it’s easy to forget how the really good ones taste.
Here are some lechon facts from Wiki:
Lechón (Tagalog: Litson and Cebuano: Inasal) is the Spanish word for suckling pig. In the Philippines, it connotes a whole roasted pig, lechón baboy. Chicken and beef are also popular. The process of lechón involves the whole pig/piglet, chicken, or cattle/calf being slowly roasted over charcoal.
Lechón is often cooked during national festivities (known as fiestas), the holiday season, and other special occasions such as weddings, graduations, birthdays and baptisms, or family get-togethers. The lechón is usually the highlight and the most popular dish of these events. It is usually served with a liver-based sauce. However, in some cases, it may be served Chinese style with steamed buns and a sweet plum sauce.
Another version of lechón, called lechón kawali, involves boiling then frying pieces of pork.
Leftover lechón in the Philippines is easily recycled into another delectable dish, Paksiw na Lechon. Paksiw na Lechon involves cooking the left-over Lechon by boiling it in vinegar making the meat moist and the skin very soft.
In Metro Manila, a popular place to purchase Lechon is La Loma, an area within the boundary area between Manila and Quezon City. Many restaurants selling Lechon year round can be found there.
Lechon Cebu is a very popular variety of the dish.
The typical Filipino method of roasting involves placing the pig on a spit and roasting it over charcoals while wiping the skin with a brush made out of leaves drenched in water and the pig’s own fat. This makes the skin “pop” and become crunchy.
The pig had always been the center of communal feasts in pre-Hispanic Philippines, and “Lechon” is the normal manner it is prepared
Pork | Comments (3)
HP Online Coupons
In just a few days, students will be going back to school. Some have actually already started classes already! But here in Texas, classes will start some time after this coming weekend. A lot of stores have already come up with back-to-school sales and some very good deals. The laptop packages I have seen thus far are very hard to resist. :) With everyone trying their best to stretch the dollar, I don’t blame them for doing everything they can to make the most out of discounts.
My laptop just conked out on me a few days ago. While getting a replacement is not really a priority, I can’t stop myself from window shopping. HP fans will be happy to know that there are HP online coupons, which will save you upto hundreds of dollars depending on what HP product you’re buying. Be it a printer, laptop, desktop or multi-ink packs you’re planning to buy, savings are waiting for you!
If you’ve already done your laptop/computer shopping, I’d still recommend that you visit Savings.com so you can check-out some of the very best deals your favorite store has. Some of their popular merchants include Old Navy, Target, Amazon, Home Depot, T-Mobile, Best Buy and Dell. The list just goes on and on.
You have just enough time to complete your wardrobe, furnish your dorm and cross out just about everything on your back-to-school “to buy” list. Oh I almost forgot, it’s tax-free weekend here in Texas from August 15th-17th. That’s another reason to shop! Woohoo! Happy shopping!
Milk & Honey | Comment (0)
