Good Morning, America!

Wow. I guess it's finally sinking in. I am in one of my dream places to go... in the land of many opportunities... the famous land of... America. I'm feeling hungry and when I'm hungry, I tend to be very passionate. LOL.

So yes, I am in America and loving the weather. We're going to stay in Alpharetta until the end of the year then we're off to CNN Center the rest of our stay in Atlanta.

We're going shopping later. Gonna have to check out Northpoint Mall, Phipps Plaze, North Georgia Premium Outlets, etc. They all do post-Christmas sale. I am looking for kids' stuff. Samantha has been asking me to buy her Barbie Thumbelina watch and bag, and shirt, and skirts, and books. Whew. So much to look for in this trip. Schenker wants some more Ben 10 stuff... unfortunately, his daddy doesn't want him to get into that kind of thing... so we'll probably buy him more Thomas and friends train.

Yes, I am in America and it's 0 deg celcius. Not sure with the fahrenheit equivalent.

Deb is such a graceful and gracious host. We are loving her place. We are loving her food. Last night, she made us shrimp scampi for dinner. I will make sure I get her recipe. She's an awesome cook.

Oh yes, I'm still on jet lag. So I am taking this time to do some online work and blog updates.

Good morning, America!

it's me,

Essence of Christmas

Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder (as the place of burdens): and His name (Shem) shall be called (acclaimed-celebrated) Wonderful (Pele-Incomprehensible, Wonderful) Counselor (Ya’ats-Transformer or Counselor), Mighty God (El Gibor-Mighty God or Chief God-Man), Everlasting Father (Av Eternal), Prince of Peace (Sar Shalom).

John 3:16

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

it's me,

Roast Turkey

As promised, here's my first ever self made roast turkey. It does look nice in the picture. LOL.

The secret to making an even brown is to baste it with butter with a brush. Now it's not a secret anymore. LOL.

it's me,

Dalcha

If I was missing sinigang, my husband, on the other hand, was missing dalcha. Again, I had to search the internet for the best Dalcha recipe. I am glad I was able to make it. I sent some to my parents-in-law and they all loved it. Really thanks to the internet for the convenient way of searching for recipes.

Dalcha is an Indian dish, Hydrabad style. It is made of curry powder, dal, mutton and some other spices.

it's me,

Sinigang Shrimp

My daughter loves prawns/shrimps and I had been missing sinigang. Sinigang is a Filipino dish. I couldn't find bangus or milk fish (ikan susu in Bahasa Malay) the other week when we went grocery shopping. So I settled for some shrimps. My hubby loves sinigang also. He's got a few Filipino dishes that he likes and I cook them for him from time to time. Here's my sinigang shrimp.I didn't have sinigang flavor mix and I couldn't find tamarind. So I used lime instead.

it's me,

How to Roast a Turkey

I was a bit more daring this year. Everytime we have Christmas dinner with the whole family, we would usually ask my mom-in-law to make us roast turkey. This year, since I hosted our dinner, I tried making it on my own.

I had to search the internet on how to make a perfect roast turkey. Of course, I know how to roast a chicken. But turkey is a bit different. It requires special kind of roasting. I think.

And so, how to roast a turkey? I think it all starts on choosing which turkey you want and which size to buy. In my case, since it was my first time, I bought the smallest one I could find, which was the size of 2.5 kgs. I have read that you can serve half a pound of turkey each person. But then, I was going to prepare something else more so I I thought the size would be just nice.

I thawed the frozen turkey in the fridge two nights before I roasted it. Then I brined it with salt water. I roasted it for 3 hours at 175 deg celcius. Now I know why women in America need a lot of preparation time for their Thanksgiving dinner. Roasting a turkey is a long and complicated process. LOL.

The result was good (that's according to my husband). I had a tasty roasted turkey for our family dinner.

it's me,

Christmas Shopping

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alice.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

Christmas is around the corner. Tonight is the Eve of Christmas. I'm sure a lot, if not all, have finished their Christmas shopping by now. Others would get into the rush and do shopping tonight. Some others would do a late Christmas shopping and I think I belong to this category. I think we're too busy to even go out and do our shopping.

But then I found this website at Alice.com and discovered that you can do your shopping online and they have about just everything you need, from your bathroom essentials to your kitchen stuff. I tried surfing the website and found there's a lot of day to day things you need that are available there. If I was given a chance to do shopping at Alice.com with my monthly salary, I would definitely buy my toiletries, my kids toiletries, some kitchen stuff like dishwashing liquid, plastic wraps, fabric softener, kids shampoo, etc.

The prices are very low as well. And the best news there is? It's free shipping. Woah. Who wouldn't like free stuff? I have also read that they're automatically giving out coupons on thousands of products. They also have a section on budgeting. That way, you get to manage your household essentials in a cost effective way.

I just signed up. Why don't you check it out for yourself? They also have a referral program in which you can refer your readers. This is an affiliate program where users can give their readers $10 off once $50 is spent on the site, and then they get 3% back of the purchases for a year.

it's me,

Sister's Call

My sister made a surprise call yesterday. She just went back home for her University. She's been staying in Iloilo for her studies. She didn't go back home for their semestral break two months ago. Glad she's able to go home for Christmas holiday now. She was just amused because I sent her a shirt I bought from London. The shirt says "My sister went to London and all I got was this lousy shirt." LOL. I also thought it was funny.

Anyways... just remembering my family this season. We are scattered all over now. My brother and family are the ones who are living nearby my parents. My oldest sister and family are living up north of the Philippines, in Zambales, while my other sister who recently just married has gone to Hawaii to join her husband.

I wish we can be together again to celebrate Christmas next time.

it's me,

Christmas Dinner

I am hosting our family Christmas dinner on the 23rd. We're doing it early this year because some of our family members won't be able to make it on the 24th and 25th. My brother-in-law and family are going to Hong Kong for their holiday on the 24th and my other brother-in-law and wife are going to Australia on the 25th. My husband and I are off on the 26th.

Before I planned for a dinner with my family, I spotted a turkey while doing groceries and I thought why not try roasting one since I haven't done so before. I asked hubby and we thought we just buy the smallest one. We didn't know we would plan for a dinner then. I bought a 2.5 kg turkey. I know it's so small.

I checked the internet on how to roast a turkey. I was surprised it's that complicated. First, you have to defrost it the size of the turkey will determine how much time you have to completely defrost it. Then there's brining. Apparently, salt water can do wonders when roasting a turkey. And then there's stuffing. So much to do to roast a small turkey. LOL. But I wanna make a perfect roast turkey so I am determined to follow the instructions.

Every Christmas, I planned to have a tradition of having Christmas dinner with my family. We're just doing it early this time. I know things nowadays can be very expensive and planning a party or special dinner is not cheap, but it's worth making the memories, especially now that the children are more aware of what's happening around them. Speaking of expensive stuff, I wonder how much it would be to buy a life insurance? Would it be nice if I give that as a Christmas gift? Hmmm...

I know, must think of all these stuff, hosting parties, giving gifts, etc, to make a celebration memorable. But the most important of all is to remember the essence of Christmas:

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

it's me,

Penang Holiday

Things are in line up today. Beach in the morning, lunch at Gurney Mall, back to our place for kids' afternoon nap and Penang Hill in the late afternoon. I haven't been to Penang Hill so I'm looking forward to going there.

The kids are very excited. Yesterday, we had meeting in the morning. Our friends took us to Chili's at Gurney Mall. Awesome beef ribs I had. Then we came back to our place for kids to take their afternoon naps. Then one of our friends took us to Penang Sports Club and the kids had a swim at one of their pools. We had Chinese dinner afterwards. You can tell we had Chinese for a host. LOL.

Our Penang Holiday is very different this time because we had friends hosting us. Last time, everytime we came here, we always book ourselves in a hotel in Batu Ferringhi because we didn't know anybody here. We would probably book in one of the new orleans hotels if we go to New Orleans because we don't know anybody there. Hmmm... all these US talks are coming out from a totally different subject. LOL. I just can't wait, that's why.

Anyways... like I said, things are on line up today. So I better get my hands off the computer and start packing.

Ciao!

it's me,

New Discovery

Last week, when I ran out of ideas to cook for my kids, I thought of trying chicken macaroni soup. My kids love pasta. So I would usually cook spaghetti for them. But for that week, I have cooked spaghetti twice and roasted chicken twice for them. So I simply tried cooking this soup.

My kids were taking their afternoon naps when I was cooking but halfway through, they woke up. I was surprised when my boy came in the kitchen and asked me: Mommy, what's that delicious smell? Hehehe.

I took a photo of it when he said that while I was still cooking.



I'm glad it didn't only smell good to him, he also loved it. Thanks to my new discovery. I have now one more dish in my food-to-cook-for-my-kids list.

it's me,

Playing in the Rain

When I was a child, I used to get excited when the rain came because that would mean I could bathe and play in the rain. My parents were okay with it. Here in Malaysia, no parents would allow their kids to play in the rain, lest they get sick (if I'm not mistaken, that is).

Do you know that when you use rain water to wash your hair, it makes the hair soft and shiny? That's a fact. I have tried. So sometimes, we would keep rainwater in the bucket just so we could use to to wash our hair. LOL.

Anyways, back to playing in the rain... Nowadays, I sort of like encouraging my kids to do the same. It would make a memorable experience for them. But of course, since they're not used to it, I let them bring umbrella outside.

it's me,

Things to do before 2010

I'm in a panic mode. Few more days and it's gonna be 2010. I need to do a lot of things even before that. Here's my list of things to do:

1. Sort kids' things, toys, clothes and see which ones to keep and which ones to give away.

2. Sort the things in the house and check which ones we didn't use for the past few years so we can give away.

3. Must finish doing up my garden (real-life garden) before Dec 26

4. Write an annual report... sort of like highlights for the year 2009.

5. Plan for kids' Christmas Party and send out birth announcements. Oppssss. send out party invites I mean. LOL. Gotcha!

6. Make sure the house is spic and span before 2010... or better yet, before Dec 26.

7. Almost done with the Christmas decoration in the house... must finish up soon.

it's me,

Talking and Listening

I always appreciate it when I am with people who know how to talk and at the same time, know how to listen. I know that we all have different personalities and some people really like to talk and want audience. Some never want to talk at all. But there are those who are very good in understanding personalities. So they talk and listen.

I really had a great time talking and listening with our friends here in Penang. Before we came here, I thought we were coming for "work" meetings. Well, I was ready with that. Then later, I discovered it was sort of personal meeting with friends. It has been a long time since I've been with friends that talk and listen.

I felt being cared for. This couple didn't know us that much. But they listened to what we were saying. So they sort of understood our stand. I had a great time. They had suggested some things that made us think. They actually helped us think through some of our thoughts. It's awesome.

Todd and Karla, I know you'd be reading this. Just wanna thank you for taking time to listen and talk to our hearts.

it's me,

Truth about Formula

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am an advocate for breastfeeding. I believe nothing can substitute breast milk. I am one of those moms who are blessed enough to be able to breastfeed their kids for at least their first year in lives. There are a lot of advantages for breastfeeding babies. However, not all moms can do this. And there are formula milks that are formulated to imitate mother's breast milk.

And so for those moms who are not able to breastfeed their babies and use formula milk, you are always on the lookout for the best formula. You are in the middle of a department store aisle with so many brands of formula milk to choose from. As a mom, you would surely choose the best for your kids, right? Now how many times did you choose the ones you only see on TV? Face it, audiovisual and print media influence our preferences. We do not have to bother looking at the Nutritional contents on the side of the can. TV ads have those experts sharing some vital nutrients our kids need, and are only found in the brands they endorse. And yes, sacrificing moms as we are, we just close our eyes on prices. After all, expensive means more complete and more nutritious, right? Wrong.

PBM Products, LLC, a leading infant formula company that supplies store-brand infant formulas to leading supermarkets and other retailers, has received a favorable jury verdict and a $13.5 million damages award in its false advertising lawsuit against Mead Johnson & Co., the operating subsidiary of Mead Johnson Nutrition Company (NYSE: MJN) (“Mead Johnson”), the makers of the national-brand Enfamil® LIPIL® Infant Formula. Mead Johnson is 83 percent-owned by Bristol-Myers Squibb. The latter claimed that only Enfamil® LIPIL® Infant Formula is the only brand clinically proven to improve brain and eye development. By saying that, the company has deceived consumers of the fact that there are also lower priced yet highly nutritious store-brand formulas containing the same nutritional content as theirs. Mead Johnson further claims that two nutritional supplements, namely DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and ARA (arachidonic acid) marks the difference between them and the other brands. At least 1.6 million parents believed this, not knowing that these two nutrients are also present in less expensive brands produced by PBM. It is estimated that we moms could save at least 600$ on our milk purchases per year without sacrificing our kids’ health! Hmm, next time, it pays to check on those Nutritional facts on the side of the can . It may take time, yes, but if we would save as much, why not?

it's me,

My Kids and their Christmas Tree

It's time for Christmas decorating once again. This year, we didn't do a lot of decorating. But my kids loved decorating the house for Christmas. And so, I let them decorate the tree on their own.

After doing the Christmas tree, Samantha sang a birthday song: Happy Birthday to Jesus. LOL. I really wish I can upload the file of her singing the birthday song for Jesus but I am having problems uploading files in youtube. Is anyone experiencing this nowadays or is it just me?

I left the Christmas tree like that for one day and one night for them to appreciate their work. Then I fixed it on the second night. And they were so happy with the new result. Haven't taken a shot of it yet. Will post here once I get back from Penang.

it's me,

New Year 2010 Resolution

It's the end of the year again... and I'm sure a lot, if not all, are busy doing a lot of things... getting things wrapped up before 2010. And I'm sure, a lot, if not all, are busy thinking what their new year's resolutions are.

I like making new year's resolution... although I can't follow through everything the whole year, at least I have some goals to achieve. Then comes the end of the year time, when I do my personal inventory, I would know which areas need a follow up and follow through again the next new year.

And this new year, I want to be specific with my resolution. I think it's achievable if I do that. I don't just say I wanna lose more weight. I should specify and say, I will cut down on food intake, do daily exercises, if needed, take weight loss diet pill. Those are very specific indeed. :D

I know a lot of people become so cynical when they hear about others making resolutions. I don't care about what they say. I wanna improve myself. I know I can be better. I just need to set up goals.

The exciting part of making new year's resolution is... when it's end of the year, I get to reflect on the previous year's resolution... what I have achieved and what things I need to work on more.

What about you? Have you thought of making some resolutions for the new year 2010 yet? Or you don't believe in making it at all?

it's me,

Finally, A Christmas Groove

Today, we're finally decorating our house for Christmas. My kids are very excited. So I told them if they're good, they can decorate themselves. The boy is showing off by mopping the floor... That's quite a good motivation, I should say.

I have started playing Christmas music too... from my yahoo messenger iTunes. After I downloaded the latest version of yahoo messenger, I couldn't use the yahoo launchcast radio anymore. So I had to download iTunes to listen to music.

I miss doing Christmas Carols... singing from house to house and never leave until we get something. LOL. Soooo different.

I'm just pondering on the celebration of Christmas... and making it memorable for the family... like how we used to in the Philippines. It is such a community wide celebration.

Here in Malaysia, there are only 10-12 percent of the population that is celebrating this special occasion. And one can get so "nostalgic" especially coming from a country that celebrates Christmas like mad.

I don't wanna get into that old school thought. I wanna rise up and make it as memorable for the family as memorable as we had it from where I came from. I may remember my family and friends and how we celebrate Christmas at home... but I don't wanna get stuck in that nostalgic department. After all, it's not the Christmas groove we're celebrating. It's the birth of our Jesus Christ!!! It is by His birth that started it all... that we too, can experience salvation. All for the glory of God! That is the true essence of Christmas!

Hope everybody will have the same reason for celebrating Christmas... however and whatever you do... whatever you put up in your house... whatever you cook... whatever your costume... whatever your tradition... as long as we remember the essence of Christmas... it is in our hearts that matter and we are responsible to inculcate the essence of Christmas in our children. I'm sure, by doing this... we all have a merry and blessed celebration of the birth of our King.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!!

it's me,

Farm Town Revisited

What does the wife do when the husband goes for work somewhere very far for a few days? Look for something to do worthwhile, of course. Well, it's worthwhile if you think it is.

I just revisited my long neglected Farm Town and discovered they have new features and new available larger building at new higher levels. I left my Farm Town after reaching level 34 and after buying a mansion. Now that I found there is a villa available at level 60, I have gone back to my farm town and left my farm at farmville.

I did quite a bit of renovation and re-named it from Pineapple Village to Janet Isle - sort of like a mountain and beach resort this time. I'm quite pleased with my farm town design. If you're in my facebook list and if you do Farm Town, you should see it in its original size. But if if you're neither, this one will do. My Janet Isle:

I have a real garden in my backyard too if you're wondering. ;)

it's me,