This Side of Heaven... where angels love to tread!

I tried not to talk of where I work but since my workplace is near the ocean, I thought that it would be nice to share photos to show-off. Now how many people can boast of being near the sea and always having that great view from their office window. Though my office is not one of the lucky ones to have a view of the outside but the pay-off is great especially during the summer months when we are able to take a walk and enjoy sun, the breeze, the smell of the ocean walking with friends/officemates or just by yourself (a walking meditation). I will add more to these as soon as I am able to actually walk around the campus. In the meantime, enjoy these photos:

Life has different ways of telepathically connecting you to people. Friday night my husband reminded me of a number that appeared in our caller ID and thought that it might have come from one of our very close friend who lives in British Columbia, Canada. I checked the number and it did had a BC identification but I was not really sure that it was our friend, Malou Arico-Pucovsky, who called. So I re-dialed the number and I got this telemarketing company. I didn't make the conversation long enough for them to convince me of buying something from them.

However, the next day, I got an email from my BC friend, Malou, who requested the recipe to a dessert that I made years ago, when she visited our family here in Massachusetts. It's funny because she thought that it was my husband who made it since most people know that it is him who is the cook in the family and yours truly is just the "sous chef"(always the sous chef, never the chef!). And since most friends are also aware of my culinary handicap, they just assume that my hubby does all the work. Not one to drown my inadequacies in the kitchen with "take outs", I have made some improvements on myself thru the years and have learned to cook and bake a little.

I have learned especially here in the US of A that in order to be able to get a taste of Philippine cuisine, one has to learn to make it yourself especially if you don't live in California, New Jersey and New York where there is a huge community of resident Filipinos thus spawning businesses that would cater to Filipino taste buds and cultural styles.

Everytime, we get a chance to visit my sister-in-laws and brother-in-law in Jersey City, New Jersey, I always make a point to shop for Filipino stuff (mostly food anyways) to my husband's consternation. It truly is a long drive from Massachusetts to New Jersey so I better make up for it.

But anyway, my friend requested for the cassava cake recipe which I am sharing here with you all. My Aunt Ofie who lives in Ohio was the one who taught me how to make this and she in turn got the recipe from Nora Daza's "Let's Cook with Nora" cookbook which is called Cassava-Bibingka. This dessert is so easy to make and also worth the time to make.

Cassava Cake Recipe(ingredients here are doubled to fit a 9 x 13 inch pan/pyrex dish):









Custard Topping:

1 can condensed milk
6 egg yolks
2 tsps vanilla

















































*Thanks to daughter Karrol for making the cassava. My hubby took the photo of the finished product and arranged the placemats in such a way that it look like a flower. Nice, ha?

This video has been going around the net for sometime now. If you still haven't seen it yet, you will be fascinated and amazed by the dance. I myself was glued to the screen because I didn't want to miss anything. This link will better explain who Guan Yin is and what the "thousand hands" stand for.

I'd like to take this opportunity to welcome new members who signed up with my buddymap: Felimar Rosario-Guzman (Chesapeake, VA), Tina Suelto (Davao, Philippines) and Gem Caldwell (Brisbane, Australia).

If the TV show "Grey's Anatomy" have their own Dr. McDreamy, then the world of alternative medicine has its own ADAM mcDREAMyHEALER.


Saturday, May 5th 2007, I finally met Adam also known as the "Dreamhealer". Together with my husband and mother, we attended his workshop held at the Sheraton Hotel in Newark , New Jersey. Anybody interested in energy healing would know who he is or would have heard about him. He is a remarkable young man and I would say that in today's spiritual age, he represents a different side of healing modality. For most of us, the only healing processes we know about are the doctors, nurses, hospitals, pills, etc. that we have encountered. However, other healing processes are slowly making its way back to the public's consciousness and it has peaked the interest of people looking for other ways to cure themselves; spiritual healing, crystal healing, naturopathy, allopathy, etc.

Remarkably, these are not new ways of healing but has been practised hundreds even thousands of years by our ancestors and was only pushed back or ignored after medicine evolved in a totally different direction. However, because of certain setbacks that are now being experienced with our modern medical practices more and more people are looking back and doing their own research thus becoming more knowledgeable towards their own healing processes.

Adam practices and teaches "energy healing". Energy healing is working with the energy field in order to balance or align what is otherwise an imbalance energy field which can subsequently create illness or disease if not corrected.

Anyone interested to learn more about Adam and his work would be better off if they read his books. He has published 3 so far:












He also has a DVD which is a very good companion to the books that he has since it will give you a better idea of how to go about with your visualizations which plays a very integral part of the healing process. It has also captured the essence of his teachings thus making it a very valuable tool for him and for the individual learning how to heal themselves.



Since Adam with the help of his family tries to lead a normal life, he has figured out a way to help more people without sacrificing his own personal needs and desire to live life to the fullest and not be tied down with major responsbilities. Hey! we can't blame him... he's only 21 years old and still needs to live. By giving out workshops, he would be able to personally reach out to more people and guide them thru the process of visualizations that will help them with their healing. He constantly reminds the audience that they should be proactive in their own healings so as to facilitate the process.

Right now, he is a college student studying "Molecular Biology". This goes to show that this young man is serious about his gifts and is trying to use it in such a way to benefit humanity in the best way that he can; by helping them help themselves...

It was indeed a wonderful experience to watch a traditional and truly unique puppet show from Vietnam. This was hosted by the Asian-American Studies Program at UMass-Boston last April 26, 2007 and performed by the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre. What was truly unique about this puppet show was that it was staged on "water". Of course, most of us are familiar with puppet shows done on a wooden platform/stage, behind a tarp or curtain like shadow puppets, puppets being pulled by strings or standing on poles or sticks.

Reading the brochure that they provided, it is mentioned that water puppetry started in the Hatay province. This particular show was brought by Chu Luong who has been working hard to bring this art around the world as a way of showing people Vietnam's way of life.

For several minutes, everyone watching was transfixed on the water stage and we all became like eager children watching our first animated show. The show depicted Vietnam's way of life; their day to day activities like farming, fishing and they also tell stories of their favorite myths and legends.

Every country have their own way of sharing their culture to the world whether it be in songs, music, dance, and story-telling. It is my hope that there will be a way to share this unique puppet theatre to a wider audience to gain more exposure and interest. This will surely beat the other entertainment experiences that our kids are being bombarded with nowadays.

I hope that you enjoy the pictures.

2007 - Vietnam's Water Puppets

2007 - Nashville, TN

My husband and I were in Nashville, Tennessee the week of April 15th - 20th. I did represent our office in a users forum and also I had a one day training for our office's software program. Nashville is known for its country music radio where you can find the "Grand Ole Opry"

It was an eye-opening experience for me since I am not a technical person and this was all about our program/system in my place of work. However, I guess that in order for one to learn and make the best of one's job, it is necessary to be able to keep up and try to learn to be able to contribute to the workplace. Being proactive ensures the worker that they have a place in their world of work and somehow helps them gain a certain security and stability needed to maintain a healthy relationship with their bosses and their co-workers.

I have posted some photos taken in the city of Nashville.

I am currently in Nashville, Tennessee attending a conference and training for my department. Will be posting more about it and photos when I get back to Massachusetts. Meantime, thanks to Tina, Sasha & Fionxe for the feedback on the dishes that my daughter made. Yes, rissoles is like an empanada. When I was able to talk to Karrol about it, she said that she did eat rissoles when she was in Portugal, only that it was chicken on the inside.

Another seafood dish that Karrol did together with the scallops that same night was "Shrimp Rissoles". She also got the recipe from the same cookbook. While searching Wikipedia what "rissole" meant, it gave me as one of the description:

In Portugal, rissoles are known as rissóis (single rissol) and are often filled with cod, chicken, minced meat or shrimp.

Now, I haven't talk to my daughter yet about this, since it is only now that I found out that this is a popular dish in Portugal. Hmmm! was it by chance that she found a recipe that she might have tried when she was in Portugal 2 weeks ago?

Well, anyway, this is a delicious appetizer or finger food for your next party. The only thing though is that, one should make it a little bit smaller like an empanaditas and not as big as a regular empanada.

Karrol also made the pastry from scratch. It came out really great; flaky, buttery and full of flavor(not doughy).


Shrimp Rissoles

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour + extra for dusting

2 1/4 sticks of butter

2/3 cup ice water

1 tsp lemon juice

1 cup milk

freshly grated nutmeg

1 bay leaf

1 lb cooked & shelled shrimp

1 hard-cooked egg, shelled and chopped

1 tbsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

vegetable oil for deep-frying

salt and pepper

* Sift 1 1/2 cups of flour with a pinch of salt into a bowl. Add 1/2 stick of the butter and rub it in until the mixture resembles of bread crumbs. Stir in the water and lemon juice and mix to a dough. Knead lightly and shape into a ball, then cover and chill for 15 mins. Place 1 1/2 sticks of the remaining butter between 2 sheets of wax paper and beat out into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick.

* Roll out the dough on a lightly floured counter into a rectangle 1/4 inch thick. Place the butter rectangle in the center. Fold the top and bottom of the dough over it, then wrap in foil and let the package chill for 10 mins.

* Place the dough on a lightly floured counter with a folded edge facing you. Roll out to about 1/4 inch thick, then fold into 3 again. Wrap and let chill for 15 mins. Repeat rolling and folding twice more.

* Meanwhile, melt the remaining butter in a pan. Add the remaining flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 mins.,or until golden. Remove from the heat and gradually stir in the milk. Return to the heat and bring to a boil, stirring constantly until thickened and smooth. Reduce the heat to low and season to taste with salt, pepper and nutmeg, and add the bay leaf. Remove from heat and let cool.

* Mix the egg and shrimp together in a bowl, then fold in the sauce, removing the bay leaf. Stir in the paprika, cayenne and parsley.

* Roll out the dough to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick and cut into 3-inch squares. Place 1 tsp of the shrimp mixture on each square. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough over to make triangles, pressing the edges to seal.

* Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer or a large pan. Deep fry the dough triangles, in batches, for 2 mins. or until golden and puffed up. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.


Though the recipe might seem daunting, be not afraid cause if my daughter was able to make it the first time and it did come out so good, I'm sure that anybody can likewise do the same. This is surely going to be a big hit in your next soiree, I assure you.

When Karrol came home during the Lenten break we were able to cajole her to prepare dinner for the family. Since she hasn't really cooked for us in awhile, she willingly obliged and made us some dishes which she followed from a recipe book (Home Cooking - Party Food). You can see the finished product above and as for the recipe, here it is...

Baked Scallops

1 lb scallops, chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

pinch of ground clove

2 tbsp white bread crumbs

2 tbsp olive oil

salt & pepper to taste


* Preheat oven to 400 Fahrenheit. Mix the scallops, onions, garlic, about 2 tbsp of parsley, nutmeg and cloves together in a bowl and season to taste with salt and pepper.

* Divide the mixture into heatproof dishes. Sprinkle the bread crumbs and the remaining parsley on top and drizzle with olive oil.

* Bake the scallops in the pre-heated oven for 15 - 20 mins, or until lightly golden and piping hot. Serve immediately.

Last Friday, April 6th, my husband and I were at the South Station bus depot in Boston waiting for my daughter, Dominique, to arrive from Northampton. We park behind this SUV with a single sticker at the back which caught my eye. The logo looked like a VISA card logo only this time it was change to KARMA. Whereas VISA commercial says 'it's everywhere you want to be' the KARMA sign states that "it's everywhere you're going to be".

For people familiar with KARMA, this will give a smile on one's face because we knowingly are aware of how Karma works wherever you are... in the here, now and the beyond. It is the only way that the Universe can balance what may seemingly look and feel like a chaotic and unbalance world. So hold on and prepare yourself for a wild ride. You won't leave home without it... KARMA, that is!

This a very important and enligthening video because it gives us a glimpse of what is to come. Will we be ready? Much less, is the thought that will we make the change in our way of life now to prepare for what will be the inevitable?

Since I haven't been blogging religiously like I used to, my blog friend, Tina, said that I must be caught up in "real life".

In today's world of fast-paced, up-to-the-minute information explosion, I didn't think that I would be missed if ever I did neglect to update my blog. Thank God! that I don't do this for a living cause I would surely starve. But come to think of it if I did this for some sort of a reward I would have to be dragging myself to the computer all the time no matter what just because this happens to be real life for me.

My so called real life consist of an 8 hour job, Monday thru Fridays. The commute can be a killer in some ways but Idon't have to complain since my husband is very much a good driver and I am brought to work safe and sound except for the occasional "other crazy drivers" that you encounter on the highway. And of course, I can be a "nag" sometimes when we would be on a near collision with another car. I guess most of the time my hubby prestends not to hear me so that we don't end up in a battle.

Both our 2 daughters are now both in college and my husband and I are very fortunate to have 2 girls who are good kids and try their best not to make life difficult for us. Though, we occasionally have our misunderstandings, still it is not the kind that we would get to the point of hating each other. Them staying in their dorms has made it a heartwarming experience everytime we meet up.

I can't complain much about work either because even though it isn't what I pictured myself to be doing, I have been comfortable enough to stay as long as I can and has considered the pros outweighs the cons. Besides, this April 15th - 20th, I'll be in Nashville, Tennessee to attend a Users Forum for our office. Who knew that I would be representing our office in a conference that revolves around "technical stuff"? This is very much a long shot from my very own educational training which is in the field of Psychology. But I guess, that in "real life" you might end up with something else that you were not trained for in the first place.

In short, real life may not always turn out the way you planned it. Real life might even bring you to places and situations which are not even comprehended in your wildest dreams. However, real life can also be a surprise waiting to happen and somehow your life turns to be alright...

Real life happens whether we go thru life fully conscious of what we are doing and making the choices which we deem necessary for us or if we just go thru the motion just because we don't have any other option. But whatever our reality is, make no doubt about it, we do have the option and the choice based on our free will.

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Photo taken one wintry day outside of Border's bookstore in downtown Boston, Massachusetts.

Finally, I got my own digital camera and what made me more excited was that the color is "green". Now, how many times would you see someone use a green camera, ha? It's not like we didn't have any digital cameras at home, in fact, we have 2 of them. However, they were my daughters' cameras and since they're both living in dorms, I don't have one to use anytime I need one.

But joy of joys, now I have one and in time for my b-day too next month... happy,happy, joy... joy!!!




Here are several photos that I took of my husband (dressed to the nines for a very important forum) and daughter, Karrol, this morning before she left for the Regis College Chamber Singers and Glee Club trip to Portugal.







So now, when you see me taking your photo, give me your biggest smile and say "GREEN".

The Regis Dance Company held their dance concert for 2007 last February 17th. My daughter, Karrol, had a good time this year even though she only had one number(a hip-hop dance number to the tune of Missy Elliot's "We Run This"). She wanted to do more dances but since her glee club is also in constant practice in preparation for their trip to Portugal this March 9th, she couldn't possiblye devote more time to it.

We did have a good time watching the girls do their thing and I am happy that Karrol has taken our advise to make the most of her college life by being proactive not only in her academics but also in her extra-curricular activities.

I believe that it is heartwarming to watch your children perform or do something creative in their lives. I notice that during the performance, there were girls(or ladies, I should say) who were really great dancers. Others were better as choreographers than performers and still some who were just there for the fun of it.

My husband and I applaud the effort and the time that these women had spent for such a memorable event in their lives. This is one chapter in their lives that would be worth sharing to the future generation.

Break a leg, ladies!!!

Corinne Bailey Rae's hit song "Put Your Records On" is one song you'd like to listen to again and again. Her song and style of music brings a freshness and pure quality lacking from other singers of her generation. It's time that we listen to soulful music once again.

Corinne's playlist: "Put Your Records On" and "Like a Star".

The day before Valentine's day, my husband surprised me with a dozen red roses and a box of chocolate. It's been awhile since I've gotten roses/flowers from him not because he's not a romantic guy but because the last time he bought me roses (yellow) on my birthday years ago he was heckled by 2 old ladies behind him on the checkout counter. One of the ladies said to the other, "Uh oh! what did he do this time?" My husband politely told them that he didn't do any thing wrong and was just buyimg flowers because it was my birthday and the old ladies started to tease him again, even getting a big kick out of it.

Flowers or no flowers, chocolate or none, dinner date or no date, one gets to a certain point in their lives where happiness is just being with their loved ones and having a good time no matter where they are or what they are doing.

The photo below is also another way my husband shows me that he cares. This was taken the day after the Valentine's day snowstorm and he did a good job of getting rid of the snow from the driveway by himself(as he always does).

Today, Valentine's Day, while my husband had to shovel snow (this is the first significant snow storm this winter), I spent my late afternoon watching a very nice "indie" movie entitled "Sabah". Though the movie's plot is a common storyline the perspective shown here is from the Arab culture.

To summarize, Sabah just turned 40 yrs. old but is very unfulfilled because though living in a Western country, Canada, the family still practices their strict culture especially under the control of her brother, Majid. Unbeknownst to Majid, his birthday gift(an old and forgotten photograph of Sabah as a young girl with her Dad on the beach) would kindle and revive her passion for swimming. When Sabah finally summoned the courage to go swimming in the local public pool, she met Stephen, who would turn her world upside down.

What I really found cute in this movie was that with the obsession for western standards of beauty, though Sabah finally relented to dying her hair, wearing red lipstick and provocative dresses when meeting with Stephen, she never pluck her "eyebrows". But nevertheless, Stephen, look past into that and loved her for who she is.

A very insightful review of the movie is given by Angela Hawkey and you can read it here.

Watch the movie if you can and hopeless romantics will be rewarded with a movie that was done with intelligence, heart, soul and humour.

• 

This week I chose Barry White for my artist because he has always been synonymous with love and other amorous pursuits what with that deep, deep voice serenading you in the background. I need not say anything more since a lot of websites out there would do more justice in giving Barry the tribute he deserves. His songs speak volumes and are now considered a classic.





Barry White's Playlist:

• You're the First, My Last, My Everything
• Can't Get Enough of Your Love Baby
• I'll Do For You Anything You Want Me To
• I'm Gonna Love You Just a Little More Baby
• Just The Way You Are
• Never, Never Gonna Give You Up
• Now I'm Gonna Make Love to You
• Walkin' in the Rain With The One I Love
  
• You Turned My Whole World Around
• Your Sweetness is My Weakness