Hail Storm

We had a little hail this afternoon. We just got back from a day at the city and not a few minutes after getting back hail started pouring. It was only a short shower but this was the first time the kids got to see hail and they were fascinated by the little droplets of ice on the ground. It wasn't too long ago that we were in a middle of a heat wave and now we get frozen rain!

IKEA Play Room

The wife, the kids and myself are quite the fans of IKEA. We were there when IKEA opened in Adelaide for the first time a couple of years ago and we've been regular visitors since.

One of the great things about IKEA is the kids playroom. The playroom is a great area where the kids can have fun while the parents can browse the store. It's more than just a room, really, as it It has a huge ball swim, a movie nook and activity tables for the kids to pass the time with. It's fully staffed and the kid's always have a great time, albeit only for an hour. It's always the highlight of our kid's visits to IKEA.

The first time we went, the little boy wasn't yet toilet trained so he couldn't go in. That didn't make for such a good experience for all of us. Since then, our kids visit to IKEA always means a visit to the playroom. Too bad though that it would be the girl's last year of using the playroom as she'll be over the age limit come next year. We know she's really going to miss it.

Hainanese Chicken Rice

It was the ANZAC day holiday today and we invited our friends over for lunch. I prepared Hainanese Chicken Rice which was just great on a cool day like today. There are tons of Chicken Rice recipes on the web and I've used a couple to come up with my own version. Chicken rice is basically chicken boiled in a stock. This is then served with rice prepared and cooked in the same chicken stock. The chicken itself is mildly seasoned so it's served with some chilli sauce ( I used the bottled kind ), dark soy sauce and a ginger/garlic/sesame oil sauce. I complete the meal with some blanched bok choy with oyster sauce and store bought fried shallots. Chicken and rice, a complete meal.

Sports Sunday

We had a very tiring day. It was our second basketball game and it was good that it wasn't that early at 9 o'clock. We arrived just as the game before us was finishing up. I actually had a longer playing time this time around but still no points. At the very least I got to put the ball on the floor and had a couple of attempts but still not yet on the score sheet. It's ok, like I say, it's all about the exercise anyway. Bonus is that we won again!

Oh, and for my bro, just so you know that I actually play, here's a pic. That's me in number 23! Yup, the team manager assigned me Michael Jordan's number. heheh.





After the game, we were still thinking of taking the kids out biking but our good friends clued us in to a free sausage sizzle ( or BBQ ) at a park. It turned out that the free food was sponsored by the Tea Tree Gully Volleyball Association. They had several volleyball courts laid out in the park's grass as well as a free magic show, balloon animals and a jumping castle for the kids. I even had another go at playing volleyball and joined in a game with some of the people. Like my basketball playing, this was again the first time in many many years that I actually got to play volleyball and I have to admit, it was fun as well.

I guess I'm taking this exercise thing to heart. For the Filipinos in the audience, I'm sure you'll recognize it when I say, "Hindi lang pang pamilya, pang isports pa!" Hehehe

Swimming Lessons 18 Months On

It's been 18 months now since the kids started their first swimming lessons and they're making such good progress. The little boy has moved up 2 or 3 levels now and is learning the basic strokes. He can float unaided and is doing his best with his free style. We notice that although he kicks well enough he seems to lose his puff after only a meter or two of paddling. But, he has utterly no fear of the water. He constantly goes under water and would even do an underwater somersault for us. He would sometimes dive and kick his feet over the water and come up grinning at us just proud of what he just did.

The girl is halfway through the swimming levels now and practicing her backstroke and freestyle over the deep end of the pool. They're now doing laps over a 10 meter stretch and making sure they do the correct strokes. I'm quite impressed as I think she keeps good form and swims quite fast. She used to be a bit afraid of the deep end but just this morning she declared that she wasn't anymore. I sometimes joke with her that she's actually a better swimmer than I am. Come to think of it, I never really had a proper swimming lessson. All I had was childhood afternoons spent at the beach just down the road from our house.

At any rate, I think giving the kids swimming lessons is a good thing. Now, we don't really have to be too anxious about them being in the water, whether in the pool or at the beach. We know they can handle themselves well enough. Although it would be some time before we find ourselves at the beach again now that the cold weather is starting.

Adelaide Blogger's Meetup

Thanks to Shai, I got to join my first blogger's meetup today. The April edition of the Adelaide Blogger's Meetup was great. It was interesting to meet so many people. My blogging has always been for a very specific audience ( I'm looking at you, family! ) but it was actually nice to share some of our blogging as well as the motivations for blogging with a few more people.

Unfortunately I didn't stay for too long and because there was quite a huge turnout didn't really get a chance to meet everyone. Hopefully I'd have more time next meetup to mingle some more but it was good fun nonetheless.

While Waiting For The Bus

There was an accident on the road in front of me while I was waiting for the bus this morning. A car turning right on the crossroad got hit by another car trying to beat the red light. It was only a few meters from the bus stop that I wait on in the mornings. It was a pretty bad accident as I actually got to see the impact and the crunch of metal on metal is a bit horrific. It was a good thing that the drivers were still able to walk away from it.

I actually called triple 0 ( the Australian emergency number) to report the accident but put down the phone when I noticed a police car arrive. A couple of seconds later I got rung back by the emergency people and I had to explain that the police were already there. They told me that next time I had to stay on the line until someone answered otherwise they'd just waste time ringing people back. Anyway, I'll remember to do that next time. Hopefully I won't have to do that again for a long time.

First Basketball Game

And I didn't embarrass myself. :) We started early last weekend but the gym was already full with the teams and supporters milling around. It wasn't too hard to spot my teammates, as we all had brand spanking new uniforms courtesy of our team sponsor. After a quick opening ceremony, we got started. Our team was actually first off the blocks and had the first game. I had a couple of minutes play myself which wasn't too bad for a start. Luckily, I didn't do too badly and we actually won the game by 2 points.

There are around 10 teams with a triple round robin so the games would probably be every week until September. We do have quite a few good players on our team so I probably won't see that much action. At least I get to have some sort of exercise during the week.

Kid Funnies Part 25

The little boy was a bit sad when we picked them up from school. The girl explained to us that he got into a misunderstanding with another boy which resulted into a little shoving match. Although it was all sorted out by the time we got there, our little man was still feeling down. The rain had just let up as we were on our way home and as I was driving, the wife and I wanted to find out more about what happened.

With a small voice and on the verge of crying he started to to tell us the story. He looked up and suddenly with a big smile and wide eyes pointed out the window,

"Look! A rainbow!" he exclaimed.

And just like that, all was forgotten and we couldn't get him to talk about anything else but the especially brilliant rainbow all the way home.

I Love Parcels

I Love Parcels
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

This was in a box waiting for us when we got home tonight. I just think it feels nice to receive parcels in the mail. Anyway, I got online and completed our Justice League and Futurama collection. I've also longed to get the US box set of The West Wing which has heaps more special features than the one released in Australia.

One thing I also got was a Missal book each for the kids. We think it's time for them to be more involved at church and we figured getting them something to read and follow during mass would help. Hope it works.

Raising Geeky Kids

A comment from a good friend got me thinking about how geeky our kids are. Being an avowed geek myself, I'm not surprised that my kids upbringing is full of geekness.

They've learned to read early and they know their way around a computer. They watched and enjoy the Star Wars films. We like the animated Justice League. They play Scrabble, Monopoly and Lego and enjoy going to the library.

I guess the geeky things we tend to like when growing up, our own kids end up liking as well. So, what's geeky for us is just normal for them.

But, I do want them to do do more things to break out of the geekness, so to speak. There's actually a video on the net featuring Gever Tulley and 5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do and I'm actually seriously considering doing some of them. It's quite interesting and the talk is more about safety than anything else. In today's world where everything is labeled unsafe for kids, there are things one can do to educate the kid.

1. Play with fire.
2. Own a pocket knife.
3. Throw a spear.
4. Deconstruct appliances.
5. Break the DMCA
6. Drive a Car.

The video presents really interesting ideas that allow kids to do explore more of their world in ways that seem to be labeled "unsafe" by most.

Basketball Practice

The Filipino community here have a basketball league and have a little tournament every year. This year I got signed up to join up. It's not really too much of a big thing. I'm already at the "mature" age bracket so I was assured that the games wouldn't be as strenuous nor as physical. Not that I was a great basketball player to begin with but I figure this would be a chance for some much needed regular excercise on my part.

Because of this, we've added a new routine to our Sunday morning bike rides. This morning we went to the basketball courts and I shot a few hoops and dusted off my "mad bball skillz". The wife and kids joined in the fun as well, shooting and passing the ball around.

Actually, I used to play basketball for fun during college and earlier in my working life but ever since we moved here I've never ever played a straight up game. So, it would be interesting to start playing again. I hope I don't embarras myself too much when the games start next week.

Justice League

I've always liked my superheroes. I remember with fondness the Saturday morning showings of the Superfriends and enjoying every minute of it. Looking back, the show was a just perfect for kids and probably sparked my interest in comic books which we collected off and on throughout my growing up years. These days, Superfriends now would look hopelessly dated and probably not enough to sustain the interest of today's sophisticated "kid" audience.

Enter, The Justice League. I guess I can think of it as this generation's Super Friends. Ever since they revamped this series I've slowly been building up my collection of the box sets. Although I've had the collection since last year, it's only now we've started watching it as a family. I didn't think that our kids would appreciate it at first but I'm quite surprised how we all enjoying it immensely.

The first two seasons was titled Justice League of America with only 8 of the big name superheroes involved but the next season had a bigger stable of heroes to work with hence the name change to Justice League Unlimited. The first 2 seasons, although quite good, didn't really have enough episodes that were easily accessible for the kids. Although they enjoyed the stories, some of the action was a bit too scary for them. Starting with Justice League Unlimited they actually opened it up a bit more and there were quite a lot of great kid friendly episodes as well as stuff that the wife and I really enjoyed ourselves.

The kids enjoy it even more and not only do we rock out to the opening intro of JLU but they also get to share in my love of comic book superheroes. They can even name the secret identities of all of the big superheroes now!

Justice League is totally different from the staid and often silly Superfriends but I think it's a good change. We're already on our last disc of the 3rd set. I hope they release more seasons soon... :)

Earth Hour 2008

Last night we participated in Earth Hour. It's a global event where cities throughout the world turn off their lights for an hour to help reduce the production of greenhouse gases. We turned off our own lights and lit a few candles. We then spent the time with the kids just talking and having the TV off for most of the hour. Of course, we couldn't really go all the way with it and we did turn on the TV eventually but still kept the lights off.

It was fun to just sit around the candles for a while and chat with the kids about school and other stuff. Reminds me of the times when brownouts would hit Dumaguete and the siblings and I would just do goofy stuff in the candlelight while waiting for the lights to come on.

Our own kids didn't seem to mind the candlelight either. Maybe we could even make this a regular thing...

Sports Day 2008

The kid's school had their annual sports day today. It was supposed to be a few weeks ago but because of the heat wave it had to be postponed. Good thing too as today turned out to be a perfect day for it. We've attended sports day before when it was just the girl's turn to participate but with both kids at school now we found it challenging to try and catch both their events.

It was nice to see the different teams in their colored t-shirts as they came down the oval. They sat themselves down in the middle of the park and waited patiently for the opening ceremonies. The competition started with their "war cries" or cheering. Our kids had been practicing their cheers all week so we could almost cheer along with them. After that, they split up into their different classes and participated in the many mini-events around the oval. There was some ball throwing, sprints and cricket batting. The wife and I even had a chance to volunteer as scorers for the events.

The kids enjoyed it immensely and after the events, had a good old snag sandwich and ice cream. Although their Blue team didn't win overall, I think what still matters is that they had fun. I was especially glad to see how they handled the fact they didn't win.

"There's always next year," they said.

Grilled Salmon with Chive Sauce

Grilled Salmon with Chive Sauce
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

I was out grocery shopping over the weekend and found fish on sale now that Holy Week is over. The salmon fillets were half off! I just seasoned the salmon lightly with salt and pepper and grilled them a pan with olive oil, prepared some instant chive sauce from IKEA and served with steamed vegetables and rice. It was an instant hit with us and the kids. The girl even wanted some more which doesn't happen very often.

Another addition to our easy cook menu.

Easter Egg Hunt with a Twist

The Easter tradition of Easter egg hunts becomes a hunt for chocolate eggs here in Australia. Back in my day, we'd used to look for hard coloured hard boiled eggs. So much chocolate comes into our home at this time of the year, that sometimes it takes months before we can consume them all!

This year, we wanted Easter to have a little less chocolates. Normally, the kids would get a small toy with a chocolate egg from us. This year, we decided to be a bit more practical. Something that can last longer, something better for their teeth and our waistlines.... so we got them a video game - Lego Star Wars 2! I know, I know .... nothing Easter at all about Star Wars! It's something they've always wanted since they completed Lego Star Wars I a few months ago.

But at the same time, we did not want the kids to miss out on the fun of an Easter egg hunt. And then an idea came to my mind while I was hanging out the laundry yesterday... why not have an easter hunt around our very own backyard?! But instead of chocolate easter eggs, we asked the kids to look for the 30 blue and pink clothes pegs we hid around the side garden. And at the end of the hunt, they get their surprise reward. I tell you, it was so much fun the whole family! We even had a little picnic of sandwiches and lemonade in the garden in under our new portable gazebo. Maybe next year we have another of these Easter hunts in the backyard, with a lot more pegs and a time limit for a little more challenge, hehehe.

Happy Easter everyone!

Adobong Itlog ( Eggs in Adobo Sauce )

Adobong Itlog
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

As with most Catholics during Lent, we avoid eating meat during the Holy Week, which is the week between Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. When I was growing up, adobong itlog would invariably be one of the dishes to be served during our weekday meals by our good old cook. I miss this dish whenever Holy Week comes around.

It's basically eggs, first hard boiled and then peeled and cooked in a adobo sauce. I actually fried off some garlic, onions and tomatoes first then add the eggs and mix up the vinegar, soy and water. Nothing to it really, it's just how one likes their adobo and the ratio between vinegar and soy.

Holy Week Holiday Starts

Thank goodness the weather has cooled down considerably. We're looking at mid to high 20's throughout the Easter weekend which is good. The kids spent the whole day at home with me because they had a pupil free day from school.

We visited the Adelaide Central Markets this evening to do a little shopping. We've been to the markets before but never quite this latey. We first had dinner at our favourite Chinese restaurant which has this chicken dish that I should really write up about one of these days. After dinner the kids had some ice cream while the wife and I got some coffee. We browsed around the markets for a bit and did a little bit of food shopping. We should come to the markets late more often because the kids were lucky enough to score some free stuff. They got free marshmallows from the lady at the coffee place and the florist even gave them a rose each. Lucky them, I wish I scored free danish pastries from the bakery but no such luck.

Tomorrow we're having lunch at our friends' place and spend some time with them. We were tempted to cook up something to bring but I think they have it everything well in hand. Anyway, we don't have much planned for Easter break, I guess we'll see if our spontaneity kicks in.

A Hot Picnic Birthday

Birthday boy woke up early today to wake us up in our beds. He was especially excited and quite the proud little man knowing that it was his birthday. We prepared a quick breakfast before going on down to the nearby park where we planned on a picnic with a few friends. We first wanted the picnic somewhere else but with the heat wave we decided on having the picnic in one of the parks closer to home.

We started early and because of the heat, made sure that we had plenty of ice. The kids had some time playing in the playground while the wife and I prepared some of the food. Nothing fancy, just sandwiches and pork barbecue. And spaghetti of course. It's not a party without spaghetti, we always say.

At any rate, our friends soon arrived. We all had a quick snack and sang Happy Birthday before having some of the chocolate cupcakes. The boy then excitedly unwrapped some of his presents and was delighted with each one. The kids then had a turn at the piñata that we brought and were happy to pick up all the lollies and surprises that burst out. We hoped that the kids could spend more time biking around and playing tennis in the park but the heat soon became too much and we moved the party back into the house.



At home the kids spent the afternoon playing with toys and video games indoors while the grownups had some coffee and more snacks. All in all a good day although we could have done without the heat. All that matters though is that the boy was happy to have his party.

Happy Birthday, little man.

Chocolate Cupcates Redux

Chocolate Cupcates Redux
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

When it comes to cooking, the wife and I have come to a sort of an arrangement. She does the sweet stuff, like cakes and desserts, while I take on the savoury foods.

Case in point, these yummy chocolate cupcakes she's baked for the boy's party. Thanks to Thess for the recipe. My wife already tried this for the girl's party the last time and it was a great hit. This time the chocolate icing gives it that extra bit of chocolatey goodness.

Praying for Cool Weather

With the heat wave bearing down on Adelaide, the wife and I thought it might be a good idea to postpone the picnic plans we had for the boy's birthday. We talked to him the other day about moving his birthday party to some another date because of the heat and he wasn't really happy about it to say the least. He had this look on his face that was as sad a look as any little boy could muster. Then he turned around and began to pray.

"Please God," he said, "Please make it cooler on my birthday because my Dad wants to move my party." It was so touching and almost heartbreaking that we didn't have the heart to move his party. Yeah, we're suckers for this kind of thing.

So, come the day, I just hope we pack enough ice and cool drinks to keep him and the guests comfortable.

Still Hot in Adelaide

It's well into the night but it's still a warm 29ºC outside. Everyone's still talking about the extreme weather we're having in Adelaide. We've reached some sort of record, about the 9th or 10th straight day of over 35ºC temperatures. Apparently this never happened before, ever. The most that was on record was 8 straight days of extreme temperatures. Just going out in the sun even for a minute or two feels like your skin is burning. I guess we're lucky that we're keeping cool in air conditioned offices and the kids are in school.

I can't help but really feel that global warming is not just talk every time I step out into the city sidewalks these past few days. Funny thing is, the rest of the country has had a fair share of rain and stormy weather. It's just good old South Australia that's experiencing this hot and dry spell.

It's looking to be very hot over the weekend as well. We were planning an early picnic with friends to celebrate the boy's birthday. I just hope it's not too hot for everyone. Just in case, we're planning lots of cold water and ice but we might have to move the party indoors if it gets too uncomfortable. Sigh, that's Adelaide weather for you...

Monday Dinner

Monday Dinner
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

It's steak diane, peas, onion fries and mashed potatoes. Today was a holiday Monday so we had time to prepare a proper dinner. While the wife and girl prepared the mashed potatoes, I got the steaks and onion fries going.

I found the recipe for the onion fries from a TV show and the steak diane from one of our old cookbooks. The peas were just the frozen kind just cooked in the microwave. I didn't think I got the sauce quite right but I think I'm getting the hang of cooking steaks with just the right amount of pink in the middle.

IKEA Swedish Meatballs

One of the things that keep us coming back to IKEA is the cheap food. We've come to love the Swedish meatballs served with gravy and Ligonberry jam. When we found out that they sold frozen ones to take home, we make sure that we always have a bag as a mainstay in our kitchen freezer.

It's amusing how most everything in IKEA comes with some assembly required. So we go from this:



to this in under 30 minutes which makes for a very quick and convenient lunch.




Of course, this is usually served in the IKEA restaurant with chips ( fries ) or vegetables. Being the Pinoys that we are, we just have to have them with plain white rice. :)

Another Heat Wave

It's a long weekend and Adelaide's in another heat wave. Temperatures have been above 35ºC for the past 3 or 4 days. It's going to be the same all the way up to next weekend. It's supposed to be the start of autumn but March is also when Adelaide experiences some of its hottest days.

At any rate, yesterday, we decided to escape the heat by going to IKEA! We stayed the whole afternoon so it was surprising we didn't spend all that much. Just a few things for projects around the house. Today it's going to be a 40ºC day and we're wondering where we can cool off this time.

Prospect Estate Park

We got a little spontaneous again last weekend. Because the wife and I had a hankering for some fish, we decided to drive down to the fishmonger's and grab some fresh seafood. We decided to have an impromptu picnic and we picked up up some fish and chips on the way back and have lunch at a local park that I found one day while driving around.

Prospect Estate Park is not your typical Adelaide park. It's actually set on an incline off the main road. What's interesting about this place is that there's actually a man made creek that winds along the length of the park. It was a real creek with little ponds and bridges that criss-crossed the flowing water.

We had a little lunch of take-away fish and chips from a corner store and some cold prawns bought at the fishmonger's. The kids couldn't wait to finish their food before going off and exploring the little water ponds in the park. They loved playing with the water and looking at the little tadpoles that were swimming there. Predictably, they did get their feet wet but because it was a hot day it didn't really matter.

There wasn't much in terms of a playground, just a couple of swings, the kids just spent the time just playing near the water's edge. With it's flowing water and tall trees, the park felt like a secret oasis just off a busy street. The park sure felt like a hidden garden of sorts as there were hardly any people around on a nice Sunday afternoon. Normally, you'd see parks like these filled with families just enjoying the outdoors on a nice weekend.

At any rate, we could have stayed longer but we still had errands to run. Definitely, will find time to come back again. Hopefully, Prospect Estate park would still be a well kept secret then...

Fringe Weekend

This weekend we went to some of the family activities of the Fringe Family Weekend. The Adelaide Fringe Festival only happens once every 2 years and like last time, we went to some of the free activities the Festival organised for families. We drove down to the city and expecting that the parking would be filled up, we parked in Central market and took the bus to Rymil Park where everything was set up.

When we arrived, things were already in full swing. We met up with our good friends and wandered around the park area enjoying the various things. The Fringe Family weekend really consisted of family friendly festival acts, a concert stage, some art installations and an eclectic mix of art and workshops. The kids and I got to see a breakdancing exhibition, a few carnival style acts and the girl even got to create a puppet which might get her ( and a million others ) into the Guinness Book of Records!

We had lunch in front of the concert stage. We intended to rest a little bit after walking around but the kids had other ideas as they were determined to see every bit that was on offer. The girl even ended up on a Ferris wheel! Although the boy did say he didn't want to go, the moment he saw her sister way up high he quickly changed his mind. Unfortunately, it was too late then so we had to pacify him with ice cream until his sister got back down.

We caught a few more acts at the iconic Fringe venue, the Garden of Unearthly Delights, before we said our goodbyes and made our way home.

The Family Weekend was an opportunity for many of the family oriented Fringe acts get to advertise to their target audience. I have to admit, I think most of what's on for the Fringe Festival are targeted for the older market but I'm glad to see more and more family friendly Fringe acts coming out.

The Adelaide Fringe festival is just one of the few festivals coming to the city this time of year. There's even a whole new event this time around with the Assitej Performing Arts Festival in May with lots of performances targeted to children and young people. I'm hoping that we could catch a few performances with the kids that time as well.

More photos here at our Flickr page.

Sunday Breakfast

Sunday Breakfast
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

We took the kids biking around the neighborhood this morning. They're still on their training wheels and they're still getting the hang of turning corners and driving on bumpy roads. After a few rounds around the park, we stopped for coffee and breakfast at the local café. The girl and I shared a breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast while the boy and my wife shared a ham and cheese croissant.

The boy just loves ham and would actually eat the ham in a ham and cheese sandwich first before eating the bread. The girl, on the other hand, absolutely adores bacon. When we cook bacon at home, she would do a "Homer-esque" thing. She'd sniff the air and she would go, "Hmmm.... baacooon" which is kind of cute. She's even remarked one day that she loves the smell of frying bacon. A girl after my own heart. :)

Weekend Painting

We decided to do some painting again this weekend. Last time we decided on a light blue colour for our living room walls. For a contrast, the wife chose a soft tan colour for some of the other walls that would go well with the blue. Of course, we had to give the kids something to do so I supervised as they help paint a portion of the wall. We figured, if they do the first coat we can have the second coat to, ah, "improve" on what they put on the first time.

At any rate, I guess because we had some experience doing the first few walls from before, we actually finished the painting quite quickly and with much less paint, which was a bit of surprise. Now we're just waiting for the paint to dry out but we're already wondering what to do with the extra paint we have left over.

2008 Festivals On Again

It's Festival season in Adelaide these next couple of months. The Clipsal 500, Adelaide Festival of the Arts, The Fringe Festival and WomAdelaide are going to keep the city busy for a while. The last time the Festivals rolled into town we took advantage of the free family activities. We're planning to do the same this time around and enjoy some of what the Festival has to offer. Based on what's advertised, it sounds quite exiting and we hope we get to enjoy even a small portion of it.

Homemade Chicken Teriyaki

Homemade Chicken Teriyaki
Originally uploaded by chazzvid

This was another quick recipe. Just marinated some chicken thighs in mirin, sake ( or rice wine) , sugar and soy sauce overnight. Then, taking the chicken out of the marinade, I quickly pan fried them for a few minutes on each side until browned and cooked. In the meantime, I boiled the marinade until it became a bit thick and poured it over the chicken. Served with white rice, it's a good weekend meal

Jumping!

Love taking pictures of them in their jumping poses. Took these at Tusmore park and I like the expressions on their faces. Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day everyone! :)

Tusmore Park

We didn't have anything planned last weekend so on a spur of the moment, we set off and visited Tusmore park. We've heard good things about the park through the Kidding About website so we packed some water and a small snack and set off for the park.

The park itself was in the middle of one of Adelaide's better suburbs so it was no surprise that the park itself was very pretty. It wasn't a very large park but it had lots of trees, a playground, open space and barbecue areas. The main attaction, however, had to be the large covered wading pool. It was early afternoon when we arrived and the park was filled with picnic-goers enjoying the day and kids getting wet on the wading pool.

Our kids made a beeline for the wading pool and jumped in enjoying the cool water. Before they could get completly wet, We had to drag them out so we could at least walk around the park and explore a little bit. The playground had a mini-spiderweb climbing frame that the kids were a bit interested in but not much else. I guess with the wading pool around, the playground really wasn't the more popular destination for the kids at the park.

After a quick play, we sat down under the trees and had our little picnic. It didn't take long for the kids to quickly finish and we headed back to the wading pool again. This time around, they got themselve well and truly wet and in hindsight we should have brought their swim suits with them. Maybe next time...

Cheese Pimiento Sandwiches

This is a typical merienda for many Pinoy school kids. Admittedly, I've always had the store bought kind but this home made version is not too bad, better even. It's a simple recipe, blend together equal parts butter and cheddar cheese. Then, add to the mix, boiled, skinned and chopped red capsicum ( red bell pepper ) and sugar to taste. The taste brings me back to childhood days and afternoon snacks at home after school. The kids don't seem to like it too much though. That's ok, more for me then...

Miss Saigon in Adelaide

The first time I heard about this musical was in the early 90s when Lea Salonga became the first to take on the lead female role in the West End production. I distinctly remember listening to the CD of this musical, with a lyric book in hand. And by the end of it all, I was actually crying! I remember there was a sad ending, but the details were quite hazy. So I guess it must have been the part when Kim and Chris were separated. One thing for sure, I considered the 'Sun and Moon' song as my favourite in the whole musical.

Since then the musical has reached the US, parts of Asia (including Manila in 2000), and now its in Australia. When hubby found out, he got us matinée tickets so that we could watch it while the kids were in school. Kinda like an early Valentine's date. We have never watched a musical together so we were really looking forward to this 'date'.

Finally, the day arrived and we saw the show. We got really good seats in the middle of the theatre. We noticed though that the crowd was made up mostly of elderly people. This could have been the normal matinée crowd here. Still the place was packed, hardly any seats were left vacant.

Since it was the matinée show, we did not expect any of the lead actors to be there. But to our surprise we later found out that it was our very own Leo Valdez playing the Engineer and boy did he carry the show! Some songs were better than others. I expected to be carried away with the 'Sun and Moon' duet, but was a bit disappointed in the delivery. Somehow I wasn't drawn into the emotion of the song. But there was another song that did .... the song about Kim for her child that she would die for him, that made me cry bucketloads! Why did I not bring tissues this time?! This time around I could relate more to the maternal theme of the story instead of the romantic angle. By the time the show ended and the lights came on, lots of other people in the audience had tissues in hand (including hubby, hehehe). Ha! ... I was not alone.

Australia 3 - Qatar 0

And the first qualifying game for the 2010 Football World Cup is done and dusted. Australia won a convincing 3-nil victory against Qatar in their first match. Yippee!

Goals were scored by Tim Cahill, Mark Bresciano and Josh Kennedy. By all accounts it was an exciting first half. Unfortunately, we don't have cable so I had to follow the whole thing on the internet. Nevertheless, it was a good start and hope it's something the Socceroos can build on.

Zapata's of Adelaide

We've been wanting to try out Adelaide's oldest Mexican restaurant for some time now. Zapata's touts itself as serving authentic Mexican food. When we first came in, the first thing I noticed was how interesting the decor was. I guess I appreciated the fact that this Mexican restaurant wasn't just one of a chain of restaurants and therefore was unique and stood out on its own.

It had a family friendly atmosphere and there quite a few families with kids having dinner at the time. Our own kids weren't too bored waiting for the food because it did come relatively quick. We ordered some prawn taquitos to start with. The deep fried, prawn filled tortilla roll was good but what was better was salsa and guacamole that came with it. Fresh is always better than the store bought stuff.

The kids had baby nachos and a beef tortilla roll. The girl loved the roll and ate it all up but the boy unfortunately just picked at his baby nachos at first. I guess it was too hot to eat but as it cooled down the cheese got hard and sort of was harder to eat for him.

The wife and I shared the beef and chicken fajitas which were excellent. I liked the presentation of the sizzling fajitas and the fresh toppings that came with it. The sauce was especially nice. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough tortillas that came with the order so I had to order a little more to finish off the meal.

With a family friendly ambiance and wide and varied menu, Zapata's is defintely a place we'd like to visit again.

Pork Barbecue and Fried Chicken

Being it was the Australia day long weekend last weekend, we couldn't help but celebrate with a little barbecue at home. What other way to celebrate Australia's multiculturalism than to have a Pinoy style pork barbecue and java rice! :)

We found this simple recipe to marinate pork. Just soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, garlic and Sprite. After an overnight soaking in the marinade, I fired up the barbie and the results were almost as good as the pork BBQ we have back in the Philippines.

As for the fried chicken, we actually brought back some store bought fried chicken mixes from our last trip back. I actually tried it for the first time the other day and it wasn't too bad. The chicken actually almost tasted like Jollibee Chicken Joy. Couple that with the instant gravy it was again another taste of home. The kids liked it as well and eagerly ate up the chicken with gravy and rice.


Now, if only I can find more of these in Adelaide.