A Tribute to Thess (March 30, 1970 - February 13, 2012)

Thess and TJ

Today is the birthday of a dear friend, Thess.
She's supposed to turn 43, and I am sure she's celebrating it wherever she's found happiness.
Because last year, about a month before her birthday, she left to find her own heaven after a heart attack.

I didn't realize she was already having heart problems.
The thing is, she has lost a lot of weight since I first met her in 2008.
We started as co-workers before we slowly yet surely, found a friend in each other.

We had lots of adventures together. We did long distance commutes to visit fellow employees: riding buses, tricycles and getting sun burned while sitting at the back of an open jeep.

We did overnights, karaoke nights, binge nights, strike nights.
We went window shopping, midnight shopping, bargain shopping.
We watched movies, watched television, watched people.
We went swimming, sometimes even at night.

Created our very own adventure which we call exercise. After work, we would change our working heels into a pair of running shoes. We would jog from where we work along Roxas Boulevard in Malate, Manila to Libertad, Pasay City. It took us around 30 minutes.

Both of us, we're crazy. Can you imagine jogging in the pathway of that area? Dark, wild, polluted, inhabited by squatters, hiding place of snatchers, and normally, a no man's land. But we are doing that for our health, we told ourselves. We wanted to keep fit. We wanted to live a long and healthy life.

The real deal, I think is that, we wanted to have fun :-) And we did. We enjoyed the adventure. Thinking about it now, we are really crazy. But nothing happened to us, right? Instead, our friendship deepened.

Then I found another job. Thess stayed behind and remained a friend. Then I had to go away, long, long distance. Thess stayed behind and remained a friend.

Good Friday Dinner: Spinach with Potatoes, Fish and Scrambled Egg

Spinach with Potatoes, Fish and Scrambled Egg

This is a favorite dish in our family, Spinach with Potatoes and Scrambled Egg. This time, we simply added fried fish with rosmary.

In the Philippines, we religiously follow the Good Friday tradition of fasting and abstinence. In Germany, this tradition is also being followed, but not as strict as in the Philippines. But this year, our family have decided to embrace fasting and abstinence, most especially this day, encouraged by the girls who learned about it during IC's weekly lessons in preparation for her first communion.

The girls  got curious, asked some questions, and after receiving satisfactory answers, decided they wanted to follow it strictly.

What pushed them to follow it strictly is because they know that a no meat diet is always healthy and the girls are happy to create another tradition, another ritual.

And yes, as a family, we are bringing it a step further. We have declared a vegetarian day once a week. Despite being meat lovers, our family will be keeping meat out of our menu once a week. I am sure it would be worth it.

I am sure it would be fun looking for recipes that would be appreciated by the whole family. I am sure it would be fun incorporating this veggie day in our garden planning for this year. I can't wait!

Make Your Own Signature Warm Cranberry Profiteroles

Warm Cranberry Profiterole

Miami is known for its beautiful scenery, but it's also the source for all things yummy. I recently discovered how rich Miami is in fabulous foodie finds when I stayed at the luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel, ranked amongst some of the top hotels in Miami. At the hotel restaurant, I ordered the warm cranberry profiteroles, which was one of the most memorable desserts I’ve ever consumed. 

My ultimate mission was to bring the decadence to my family and friends in Chicago. The flavors and textures of the sweet, gooey confection were hard to walk away from. Bringing home the taste of Miami was simpler than I expected, because I was able to find the perfect recipe at MyRecipes!

Preparing your own signature warm cranberry profiteroles is easy. You don’t have to be a classically trained chef to make them successfully. If you adore chewy, rich, fruity pastries, you will thoroughly enjoy these cream puffs. The ingredients are basic staples in most homes, so you won’t have to run all over town to satisfy your sweet tooth.

I lost 5 kilos in one week...

Unfortunately, it was a painful way to shed.

I was hospitalized for acute appendicitis, and the doctors decided to open me up when they discovered some growth in my stomach.

Had that drainage tube for five days hanging on my side. Can't move without any pain. Can't drink without any pain. Can't eat without any pain. Can't laugh without any pain.

Whew, I stayed tough.

Didn't ask for any pain killers. Didn't ask for any sleep tablets (except when a new bedmate started snoring so loud that hearing her brought more pain!)

I looked forward to my family's visits, their calls. Appreciated the calls and text messages from some friends. Endured the pain.

My first time to be hospitalized, except during the birth of my girls. As I told my husband, that time, the pain was forgotten because, well, you have the girls.

Anyway, am not complaining. The hospital employees were friendly. The room is comfortable. My bedmates were okay.

After two nights of having bedmates, I finally got my single room. Time to experiment on the moves, what's painful, what's not. I finally got to hog the bathroom. I could watch television til late, read books til late. Wellness time :-)

But the food, oh the food. They call it basic menu and I call it diet.

Therefore, I lost five kilos. Therefore, I gained a mark of life along my stomach. But I am alive and well, you see!

I am happy to be back home after a week. And no, I refuse to see the chaos awaiting me. I will enjoy having my family around me. And will try to keep the kilos away :-)

Although I would binge on hamburger and fries as soon as I could, too!

Our Pet Trains as Rescue Dog

Who would have thought?

Our golden retriever, Rikki, passed the first hurdle to become a rescue dog! And I am grateful that a television crew was present during the try-outs, too.

First things first.

Here's the television program link.

I would have joined them, but the girls were sick the whole of last week and I was also not feeling well.

I had to prepare all the possible things they would need: a bottle of drinking water for my husband and for Rikki: enough treats, some of her favorite toys, and a bowl filled with water.

Before they left, I jokingly told Rikki to take some photos during the training :-)

What a pleasant surprise that when they got back home more than two hours later, my husband informed me that there's a camera crew during the training that night! Nope, he was not sure if their segment would air, but we could check it out the following day.

Of course, we spent the rest of the night asking them how they both survived the rescue training. We have so many questions, we could not even wait for the answers! Those answers we would also see later during the airing of the program.