Keeping Them Fresh

Hubby loves entertaining at home. He always insist on preparing a lot of food, sometimes more than we can consume. It is on these occasions that we end up with a lot of leftovers. Since there are only the two of us at home, these are more than enough for us to eat.

I hate throwing away food. I have been raised to be careful and not waste food. However, we cannot keep food, especially leftovers, for a long period of time. When they have lost their freshness, that is, they taste or smell funny, we have to throw them away.

There are ways to keep our food fresh longer. One way is to store them properly. Food keepers like always fresh containers are designed to help keep our food fresh for weeks by keeping away harmful gases that speed up the aging process of food. This way, we don't throw and waste a lot of food.

Memorial Day Activities

Memorial Day is a special day when America honors the valiant men and women who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country. On this day, flowers and flags are placed on the graves to honor these fallen heroes. Parades, flag-raising ceremonies, dedications of memorials and programs are held to commemorate this day. One can also see flags flown at half-mast in both public and commercial establishments.

This being a holiday, Americans head to the beach or go on camping trips. It has also been a tradition for families to hold barbecues and pool parties. This morning, hubby and I went shopping at a gourmet Italian market, bakery and specialty food store at Coral Springs for our special dinner tonight. This holiday has given me another excuse to pig out. Maybe it's time for me to start looking for supplements for weight loss. Any ideas?

Early Morning at Lake Olivia

Lake Olivia, Avon Park

Central Florida

In Memoriam

Yesterday afternoon, banabear and I drove to Las Olas Boulevard in downtown Ft. Lauderdale. After a late lunch at Cafe le Bonne Crepe, we walked (that was a LONG walk) down the boulevard to Ft. Lauderdale Beach where we were greeted with a very festive atmosphere.

In keeping with the Memorial Day celebration and to raise awareness and support to the veterans, there were 6,256 small flags displayed on the beach. The flags represented the number of veterans lost to suicide each year.

This is the banner of a big event the day before. There was a Great American Beach Party at the Ft. Lauderdale Beach to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the iconic film, "Where the Boys Are" which was filmed in Ft. Lauderdale in 1960. Live bands performed classic 50's and 60's hits, there were hula hoop contests, limbo dancing, vintage car exhibit, a special screening of the movie on a large screen set in the sand on the beach and a presentation of an award to Connie Francis (who starred in the movie) in recognition of her contribution as an ambassador for Ft. Lauderdale capped the festivities.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny day. The beach was teeming with people.

Long Weekend

I am glad I have a long weekend. My body's screaming for rest but I have a lot of stuff going on around me: household chores, blogging, USCIS paperwork and school assignment.

For the first time since I arrived in the U.S. three years ago, I have cold and I have been coughing. I haven't been feeling well the past few days. I must've caught a virus from work because some of my officemates were sneezing and coughing. It is also very cold in my office. However, I am new in my job and don't have sick and vacation leave credits, so I can't afford to be absent from work.

Anyways, it's Memorial Day weekend and there are festivities going on. I've convinced banabear to go with me to the Fort Lauderdale Beach down at Las Olas.

Hope you're all enjoying your weekend.

The Woman on Diet

Men and women are different, that is, in the physical aspect. This can be seen from the structure and shape of their bodies to their weight and anatomy. While men build muscles easily and have greater body strength, women have four times as many brains cells connecting the right and left side of the brain. Due to the differences in their physical composition, their body needs different supplements, too. There are vitamins specifically geared to meet a woman's health needs and even products which are marketed as safe diet pills for women. These contain ingredients rich in estrogen which plays an important role in the female reproductive development.

Making the Right Choice

Every diet pill manufacturer will claim that their product is superior compared to other diet pills in the market. However, diligent search and experience will tell us that not all of these claims are true. There are diet pills that work and there are those that do not. Remember the doctrine of caveat emptor.

The responsible dieter must know what diet pill to take or if he really needs to one.

On Fat Burners

Whenever I go to the supermarket or drug store, I sometimes check the weight loss section. There I can find different brands of fat burners. Some of these products are widely advertised on tv and online. If you browse online, you will see more fat burners. One of these fat burners being advertised online is apidexin, said to be one of the most powerful over-the-counter fat burner. It contains powerful herbs and fat loss compounds guaranteed to burn your excess fats and keep them from coming back.

Years ago, I tried a couple of fat burners but while my pocket shrunk, my weight remained the same. I might have been taking the wrong ones or do these fat burners really work?

My Young Man

My baby who graduated from high school in April, turned 16 last Thursday. Next month, he will enter the college of Nursing.

I am blessed that he's an obedient, respectful and well-mannered young man. I never had any problems with him even as a young boy. I pray that we'll soon be together. That will be the happiest day of my life.

Hot Tub

The picture you see on the left is our small backyard pool. Hubby and I love spending a few minutes in the hot tub before going in the swimming pool. The hot water soothes our tired muscles and helps alleviate our back pains and shoulder pains. In fact, one of the things we enjoy about going to 24 Hr Fitness is their whirlpool.

Some houses have bigger hot tubs. Some have it indoors and others, have it outdoors. Some put hot tub covers to protect the water inside the tub from such elements as insects, rodents, dirt or simply to provide insulation, thus, retaining the water temperature longer, which helps in energy conservation.

The Shopper

Shopping is fun unless you are in one of those days when you have to stand on long queues waiting for your turn in the cash register. Thanks to the inventor of the barcode scanner, it has made the life of the shopper easier. Instead of manually punching in the price at the register, cashing out is made faster by simply swiping the bar code of the product on the scanner. It saves time for everybody and the results are more accurate. Hubby also downloaded a barcode scanner application in his cellphone which enables us to compare prices of a certain product among different stores. That saves us even more time. The wonders of technology - amazing!

Photo Hunt: Memorial

Photo Hunt

Memorial Day, celebrated in the U.S. on the last Monday of May, is a day of remembrance for all those who have died in the service of the nation.

In honor of the valiant men and women who offered their lives for the country, I am posting some of the pictures I took last year during Memorial Day when I was in Hawaii.

The Pacific War Memorial

Marine Corps Base Hawaii

Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

Lantern Floating Ceremony

Ala Moana Beach

Honolulu, Hawaii

Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery

Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

Games for the Young and Old

When I was growing up in the Philippines in the 70's, my toys consisted of tea sets, dolls, and Fisher Price toys sent to me by relatives in the U.S. For games, I had jackstones (jacks), chinese jackstones (tiny pillows the size of the palm containing mongo seeds or sand), pick up sticks, Snakes and Ladders, and Games of the Millionaires. Later on, I was into Scrabble and Games of the Generals, an educational war board game invented in the Philippines.

With the advent of the computer, children nowadays are into "hi tech" toys. Toys like the ps3 are popular among the young and the young at heart, including parents like myself. The good thing about these electronic and computerized toys is that it allows you to play different games: not just two or three but hundreds of games to choose from. And because the game is enjoyed by children of all ages, the game can be made into a family affair.

The family that plays together

stays together.