Kwento-kwento Lang

I cant think of anything special to write about today but I got a bunch of things to tell thus the title kwento-kwento lang. What follows is a random report of what I've been up to for the past many days. Some of them you may find a bit interesting and some may make you yawn. But it's ok ... have a great nap. A boring reading material is definitely more than useful especially when you have trouble getting yourself to sleep.

A Sneak Peek at St. Pete
A week before the feisty Wilma came to Florida we had the chance to drive to St. Pete City which is about one and a half hour drive from Arcadia, to check out some of their nice beaches. We went there to scout for a place where we could hie off to if and when Dean feels the need to unwind from a stressful week at work. The beaches were nice but of course they're nothing compared to the Philippine's Boracay or Palawan though I've never really been to any of the tourist infested beaches in my own native land (what a shame!). But one thing that attracts me to the coastal areas of Florida are the hundreds of sea gulls prancing around the seashore. They dont mind the people around them and people dont mind them. A classic example of co-existence. The birds make the resort an awesome sight, at least for me.

It was in St. Pete where I saw for the first time a drawbridge. I had a grand time watching it raised up high to give way to the three boats that took turns in getting through. It took about 15 minutes before it was lowered back down, much to the exasperation of some drivers who were in hurry to get to their destinations. If I knew it would take that long I would have gotten out of the car to take a closer and better picture of it.

Baby Shrek
I did a babysitting job for Abby one day when she had to take her son to the doctor. His name is Ivan and he's 1 year old. We call him Baby Shrek because when he was few months old he was so huge, round, stocky and super heavy. Lifting him up was like trying to lift a big rock. He has lost weight since his parents started to control his diet. It's good that they're doing that because Shrek's weight was really freaky but it's sad because I learned that they dont give him milk anymore. They just feed him with solid food which usually is canned or processed food. I think his parents are mentally warped. No wonder the baby has become sickly. Poor Shrek.

Night With the Midgets
Last Friday, the Deses (Desiree and Destiny) had their first sleep over in our house since Dean and I got married. We also threw a party that night for Andrew who turned 7 two days before. After dinner all the kids watched a kiddie movie on DVD and later on played "Simon Says" which soon turned into a rough game. Desiree banged herself on the wall while chasing her twin sister and got a scratch in her already bruised right cheek. Their Mom said she got the bruise when she fell in the shower room a couple of days back. Kids are just so awefully clumsy.

Fall Season Celebration
We went to Arcadia's main street last Saturday where the city government had organized a holloween street fest. Calvary Baptist Church had a booth there not to celebrate the holloween season but the fall harvest. CBC and other churches gave candies as well as Gospel tracts to all kids from 1 to 92! My kids asked me weeks before holloween if they could go trick-or-treating and I said no. I had to explain to them the cultish origin of holloween and how trick-and-treat started. Did you know how gory it was? You may want to find out.

Tortang Zucchini
Here it's called Zuchini patties and it's very easy to make. It's just like making any torta, like tortang talong. You just need some eggs, a bit of flour so the patties wont fall apart, pepper and salt to taste and of course, oil for frying. To make it even yummier I use a dash of Knorr panggisa mix. My kids and I love it very much. Try it!

I got some more tale to tell but I guess it's me getting tired. It's already past my bedtime anyway.