Frantaglais blah-blah...

You're Beautiful...

2005-10-14T05:02:00.001+02:00

Yow byutofowl..., that's how our Clémentine manages to pronounce it. She's nuts over this song, been singing it non-stop and even asked her papa to buy her a CD today. Last night, she startled us when she yelled out, "Maman! Papa! voilà!, c'est 'yow byutofowl'!". The vidéo clip was on TV and that was the first time I and GGiant saw it. Well, I just find it cute, that at her age, she already appreciates songs like this one...

My life is brilliant...
My life is brilliant,
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yeah, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Flying high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

James Blunt

Ma maudite migraine

2005-10-09T00:55:00.000+02:00

I've been suffering from migraine for a long time now. It started, I remember it clearly, when I spent months of anguish 16 years ago. That was when I found myself 'carrying a life on my hands' and facing the 'problem' alone. Some say, the exact cause of migraine is unknown, others believe that it's a neurological disease and my grandmother said it's hereditary. I don't know, for me, it's caused by psychological factors. Because I know, this famous event in my life that made me stressed and depressed to the nth degree, provoked this megrim, the mother of all headaches.

Being born and brought up in a family that highly favors values and traditional views, with very strict and conservative parents, my getting pregnant out of wedlock was a 'disgrace'. It was like the end of the world not only for me but also for everyone and I was sort of 'mentally tortured' because of this. I felt so down and helpless at the time. I'm ashamed to admit that I even thought of terminating my pregnancy. But I thought better of it and considered an innocent's feelings -- the pain I would be putting him through. And I didn't know if I would be able to get over the guilt of having it. So I decided not to have one, after all it was all my fault and not his. For months, I couldn't function properly at work, all I could do was cry. I couldn't stop thinking, "What does the future hold for me and my son?", "What lies ahead?", "Will someone just wake me up from this nightmare?". Every night I would fervidly pray, and would silently cry myself to sleep.

And as though my brain was 'drained'.

Ever since, every so often, I get migraines. Now I always find myself locked up in our bedroom with blinds closed, in total darkness, so as to appease the pain or until it runs its course: having no choice but to spend most of the day in a dark room feeling awful. I hate the fact that I couldn't do anything, couldn't go out, nothing. When it attacks, it's usually very strong, I could hardly move and it's not a nice feeling when my vision goes blurry. Due to excruciating pain, I could become nauseated and eventually throw up -- which sometimes seemed to be a relief because soon afterwards I would fall asleep and when I wake up, the pain would be less. But it could be sometimes worse because each time I do it, the throbbing pain intensifies to the point as though my head will explode.

There are a lot of things this killjoy Big Mama headache prevents me from doing. Yesterday was supposed to be my third motorcycle driving lesson but I had to cancel it at the last minute. One of my Driving School rules: if one is unable to make it to his/her driving appointment, cancellation should be done 24 hours in advance. But since I did it at the last minute, I'm obliged to pay for it. Et voilà!, that's 80 Euros, out the window! Then last weekend, GGiant's ultra gorgeous aunt celebrated her 40th birthday, but unfortunately, I wasn't in the mood to party. I had la maudite migraine that day and had to take painkillers. Not just because these medicines have an effect on reaction time or level of awareness that makes me unfit to drive, it's the noise: it's inevitable. The cacophony of children's and adults' voices, music, etc., would only aggravate the pain. So I just decided to stay home and just sent her (GGiant's aunt) my b-day message thru a poem (posted below, w/ her permission of course) that I wrote for her days before her birthday. But I'm sorry my non-French speaking friends, it's in French!

I've been getting between two to four migraine attacks per month and I am already tired of it. And as I write this, I could feel the throbbing pain that slowly starts on the left side of my head. And I know this will again hang around for a day or so. Believe me, you have to be a migraine sufferer like me to understand how it feels.

******

L'esclave de la mode

2005-09-27T00:48:00.000+02:00

I could hear a key being slid into the door's keyhole. Koko, with his short, spikey, heavily gelled hair emerged from the front door. He was wearing a pair of trendy denim jeans, a red sweatshirt over a white, slick, short-sleeved tee-shirt and a pair of red rubber shoes that he obviously put on to match his top. He was holding a cell phone in his left hand and wraparound sunglasses with his right; wearing his heavy, bulky backpack over both shoulders.

He just arrived from school.

I was still in bed when he left for school this morning, I had a sleepless night and was only able to doze off at around 5 a.m. so, I was half asleep when he gave me a kiss and didn't see exactly how he was dressed today.

So?

He's growing up way too fast and It is quite noticeable that he has learned to be more careful about his looks. He spends half an hour in front of the mirror every morning. And that's ok, I just find it normal. Problem is, he's also becoming obsessed with designer labels. He's definitely not a spoiled kid but he would sometimes pester me to buy him branded clothes. He has a tendency to wear nothing but branded ones, and this is what I noticed when he arrived today from school. And this is not good.

It is apparent that most kids these days are esclaves de la mode ("fashion victims" or if I'd translate it literally, "slaves of fashion") and I'm afraid that my son is in the process of being one, unfortunately. He's only in secondary school and most of his peers are the same, I can't help but notice the way they're dressed, there's even one who looks like David Beckham, with his trendy hairstyle, earrings and all.

Like any other parents, my husband and I, from time to time, love to see our children in fashionable clothes. So, every once in a while we purchase them signature ones, especially Koko, when he makes good grades in school. But to break the bank or make serious sacrifices in order to meet their capricious demands is a definite no-no. My son and I have been having a repetitive scenario at home lately: his "Please..." and my "No, you don't need it, money doesn't grow on trees, if you really want it then save up for it.".

As for the cell phone, I don't mind him having one as it lets us stay in touch with him at almost all times. He's responsible enough to have one and I need the security of knowing his whereabouts at any given time.

There are lots of things I never had as a child or things I feel I had been denied in my teen years but that doesn't mean I'd let my kids expect instant gratification for their slightest caprice or whim. No. Like most things it's just a question of balance. Although I sometimes feel guilty when I said 'no' to him, I know I just want him to grow up as a reasonable person who understands the value of money and just giving him the confidence to be proud of who he is rather than to be proud of what he has.

Bof!

2005-09-14T16:15:00.000+02:00

It's been a while since my last update. It's because my Mac broke down (?). It won't turn on. I don't know ... it just slipped into a coma and showed unwillingness to be awaken from its unconscious mode. I just got it 9 months ago. My husband gave it to me as a Christmas present. Sheesh! If only he could understand every word I say, he'd protest. "Yeah of course,' a x-mas' present, you bet!", I can almost hear him saying that. Ok, a "forced" x-mas present. I told him I wanted to blog and I needed a computer. Euh, please don't think that I was acting like a capricious, materialistic brat. No, far from it, not my style. It's just that he's got a desktop but it wasn't and still not always evident for me to use it as his job requires long hours in front of his computer screen. His computer actually spends its time calculating illustrations and he only shuts it down, almost always, after midnight. So I got 'sick' of waiting till he's through with it before I could use it. Since I'm not difficult to please, I told him that I could go for a small-time brand, an el cheapo laptop would do. So after several "I beg you's" and "You won't regret's...", boy I was surprised when I got up on Christmas morning to come upon a sleek, smooth, white, 14-inch portable computer with its apple logo on the cover, in my undies drawer. Eh oui, of all places....

Since the damned laptop is still under warranty, it's now being fixed, having the defective part replaced, without charge (I hope).

But It's been ten days! I'm starting to feel the boredom creep in.

There's one thing that bothers me a little. I have a friend who's a computer technician. He repairs PC's. But according to him, laptops aren't supposed to be fixed by technicians as they're very nasty to repair ... and very costly! So if a laptop needs fixing, a technician is not allowed to open it because laptops are generally built with proprietary hardware specific to the manufacturer so it should only be done by the place where it was purchased. My husband brought it back where he bought it because it's still under warranty. But what if it's no longer under warranty, how much will it cost us? I'm also afraid of what-would-be the result, dismantling a nine month-old laptop could be sooo bad. Now I can see and feel the inconvenience of having one of those state-of-the-art machines.

As I write this, hubby's on the phone talking to the person responsible for the reparation, the man's informing us that they're still waiting for the mainboard or motherboard (whatever, I have no idea what that thing is) they ordered from the US. Phew! Isn't that great?

No wonder mp3 players, ipods, or up-to-the-minute digital cameras don't interest me, not at all. I don't even own a cell phone...

A day au Parc Astérix

2005-08-28T20:00:00.000+02:00

Summer vacation is almost over. Most of the schools in France are already open and some of the kids are now back to school. For Koko and Cléms the new school year will start on the 2nd of September. So, time for homeworks and early mornings again! Whew, at least I did enjoy the luxury of late nights and lie-ins during their vacation. What irritates me is that the month of August will be over in a few days and it's only now that the temperature rises, now that the holidays come to an end! We really didn't have a single day that we can consider a 'hot summer day'. Normally, in the north of France, the temperatures in the summer especially in August average about 28° C but since the beginning of the month, the only average temperature's been about 15° C and we're most of the times obliged to put a sweatshirt on when going out. Last Friday, exceptionally, the temperature rised to 22° C, and we decided at the last minute: took this chance to spend the day at Parc Astérix.

Parc Astérix is a large theme park based on the adventures of the popular French comic book hero, Astérix the Gaul. Have you heard of it? Well, to tell you the truth, if it were not for GGiant's grand collection of Astérix hardbound comic books, I wouldn't know that "he" has been as popular as Lucky Luke and Tintin. Prior to this, I had never heard of it. Strange ... I used to spend hours hanging out at the National Bookstore when I was still in high school but I never came across any Astérix books. Ohh, maybe it's because I didn't go to any section other than Romance in this bookstore. In fact, I was a secret Mills and Boon addict. It's just that books like these weren't allowed in the house or my mother would confiscate them (tsk, tsk, there wasn't much going on in those books really, some heavy pettings at the most).

Oh, where was I? Ah, yes ... Astérix. For those who haven't heard of this comic book character, let me enlighten you a little about "him". Ok, Astérix the Gaul is the inspired creation of Renè Goscinny (he's also the renowned author of Lucky Luke and Iznogood) in collaboration with Albert Uderzo, his illustrator. Together in 1959 they set out to create a humorous character set in Roman Times. The Gauls, of course, were the people that inhabited France before the Roman invasion. Astérix, a defiant Gaul, for whom, surrender to the Romans was out of the question, no way! So, he would always ask Panoramix, the village's druid, to brew a magic potion that draws supernatural strength with which he can defeat the Romans, at times defying Julius Caesar. So, with the help of the magic potion, the village where Astérix lived wasn't conquered by the Romans. The story sounds simple but the realization of Goscinny and Uderzo was quite outstanding. It's not just a mere comic book am telling you, Astérix, together with his best friend Obélix will make your belly ache with laughter. From what I last heard, less than two hundred million copies of Astérix comic books had been sold. There were also several feature length films that had been made, remember Gérard Depardieu as Obélix?

Parc Astérix opened its doors in 1989. It is very French in nature and you can see features/aspects of French history and culture depicted throughout the park. It is located just off the A1 Autoroute, about 35 kms. north of Paris in the middle of a protected forest. The best thing is, it's only 10 minutes drive from where we live, cool, eh? There are around 30 rides to suit all ages, from gentle kids rides to a wooden gigantic roller coaster called Tonnerre de Zeus, it's about 30 meters high reaching a speed of up to 80 kilometers per hour, that makes it onto most lists of the best theme park rides in the world - absolutely not for the fainthearted! Definitely not for me, I almost threw up just after trying the Oxygenarium, a spinning 'rapids' ride in a large circular liferaft. It is one of the water rides and there are actually lots of them, that's why it is ideal to visit the park during not-so-cold days as getting soaking wet is also part of the fun and is also the reason why the park is open only from April to October, unlike the Disneyland which is open all year round. And if you want a break from the rides, there are also plenty of shows. Cléms favorite was the Dolphin show, well I don't know exactly what dolphins had to do with Astérix except that we had fun watching them! One day is not really enough to see and experience all these attractions and rides.
L'entrée de Parc Astérix

Le Vieux (The old) Paris

Goudurix

Menhir Express

Les Chaises Volantes (The Flying Chairs)

Une maison Gauloise (A Gallic house)

Astérix, Clémentix et Obélix

Tired as we were, despite aching feet, we were happy at the end of the day. Le Parc Astérix was a thrill every minute with Gallic wit and charms, offering the ultimate fun-filled day out for everyone!

Memes: encore et encore...

2005-08-23T00:02:00.000+02:00

The Book Club Tag
Major Tom of Citizen on Mars tagged me for this book meme.

What's in a book?

Webster defines book as, "A copy of a written work or composition that has been published (printed on pages bound together)". Ok, then what's in it?
Well, it depends. In it could be something that has the power to dispel my worries, has the ability to allow my mind to wander - transporting me to exhilarating places, or ... could be something a bit of a snoozer.

Number of books on the shelves:

I don't have much here with me as I, usually, after having read them, bring them myself or send them to my sisters in Manila. But there are also ones that I love enough to let them go -- I love re-reading them -- and they're here to stay.

Those that I own or bought:

I used to be a subscriber of English Book Club. Unfortunately, I had to stop the subscription a year ago for I got a bit tired of receiving bills for books I didn't order/purchase, etc. Almost all of the books I have now, I bought them from EBC.

I've lost track some of them for I don't mind lending too, there are books that I own (or shall I say, owned) that now vanished into thin air.

Here's a list of some of the books I have pour le moment:

Michael Connelly's
A Darkness More Than Night
Blood Work
Lost Light
The Narrows
The Poet
Chasing the Dimes
City of Bones
Patricia Cornwell's
Point Of origin
The Last Precinct
Post-Mortem
Cruel and Unusual
From Potter's Field
JRR Tolkien's
The Lord Of The Rings
The Hobbit
Bilbo's Last Song
Stephen King's
Dreamcatcher
James Patterson's
Violets Are Blue
JKRowling's HP series of course, I told you...

Last few books that I bought:
Well, the latest one was HP and the Half Blood Prince.

Book that I'm reading now:
I am re-reading Michael Connelly's City of Bones.

Last few books read:
The book my husband bought for me - HP and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in Harry Potter series. I've finished reading it and I hope the 7th or the last book won't take two years or longer to finish.

Analyse, Kayla and Bart. Tag, you're it!

Past, Present and Future
Analyse tagged me for this one. Although I, like her, find this meme way too personal, I accepted as I don't want to disappoint her. Anyway I'm not a politician nor a big time showbiz personality who has an image to protect. So, that's fine.

Without knowing it, my fault of course (I should have bloghopped first before posting this entry), Major Tom tagged me too. Thanks, Major!

20 YEARS AGO
1985. Freshly graduated from college with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management. Landed a dream job, my first job in my chosen field, in one of those prestigious establishments along Makati Avenue. I still remember, I took my family to dinner after receiving my very first paycheck. What a great feeling, it was such a relief - no more exams, no more never-ending homeworks, no more terror professors, just applying what I learned and made a living at the same time. Though I was living paycheck to paycheck at the time I still could afford to splurge on small luxuries every once in a while. That was the beginning of a new life, the beginning of my independence.

15 YEARS AGO
1990. I was still with the same job, same responsibilities, just a different title. This time I wised up - I was able to lay away money every paycheck without fail. It was worth it and gave me a great deal of peace of mind when I found out that I was about to meet great expenses. There had been things that had been very painful, and it happened this year. Maturity struck me forcibly. My then beau, who, at the time was to be petitioned by his parent living in the US, had to choose between "marriage and get stuck in the Philippines" or "migration and savor the good life". He chose the latter. Problem was, I was not alone when he left me.

10 YEARS AGO
1995. I considered this year a new phase of my life. My son, already 5 years old, growing up as a wonderful marvelous creature. Same job ok, but this time in a different place and unusual entourage. I met my now husband, GGiant, at a friend's birthday dinner. He invited me to go out and that was the last time that I felt butterflies in my stomach.

5 YEARS AGO
2000. I still clearly remember, I was fetching my son from school the moment I told him, that finally, he was going to have a baby sister or a baby brother. He was so happy that he returned back to his classroom and told his teacher about it.

3 YEARS AGO
2002. Our daughter turned one. Made the most of her special day with the family and some close friends.

LAST YEAR
2004. September of last year, an event that will eventually lead Clémentine into the wider world - her first step in education.

YESTERDAY
We were at Nounou's (GGiant's ex-nanny) place. We stayed for the weekend actually. I was totally bloated after eating up greedily Nounou's tossed green & cucumber with mint-basil vinaigrette, boeuf Bourguignon with mashed potatoes, Munster cheese with homebaked baguette and rhubarb tart, all washed down with Badoit rouge.

LAST NIGHT
Sipping hot delicious goodnight tea while watching a documentary about Paul Loup Sulitzer, one of France's best-selling novelists.

TODAY
Nounou's vegetable garden grows tomatoes, green beans, lettuce and some herbs. So, after a light lunch we picked some of these veggies and brought them home.

TOMORROW
I'll probably go to IKEA and look for a curtain that suits with the now light olive-green living room walls.

NEXT YEAR
Sell this apartment and buy a house. Well, hopefully.

FIVE TO TEN YEARS FROM NOW
Ten years from now, hopefully my son has already finished his studies and be happy with his chosen field. My daughter, hope she'll do well in school like her brother. My husband, remains as my husband and continue bringing home the bacon, haha! And me, well aside from being 10 years older, to stay fit for my husband and my children. For our family, I'm wishing for good health, wealth, success and happiness.

Hope these ladies wouldn't mind if I tag them, but hey, if you don't feel like doing it, that's ok, it's your choice, no problem. ;)

BigBok
Thess
Stel
Atinna
Beng

Why Is Sex Good For The Health

2005-08-16T00:40:00.000+02:00

GGiant brought home a copy of this month's issue of ça M'intéresse magazine ("That interests me", if translated literally). Well, the name speaks for itself, it covers everything from science, technology, culture, arts ... to many more: anything that could attract the reader's attention. GGiant works for several magazines, this is one of them, so no need for a subscription: I could have my copy of each of these magazines for free, la chance, eh? This month's cover caption reads: "Pourquoi le sexe est bon pour la santé", "Why is sex good for the health". I wasn't at all convinced and found the caption title a bit ridiculous till I read the article.

Well, I thought "Why not share it with you?". Ohh, now I can almost hear you saying, "And now she talks about sex!" Ok, can we not talk about it without snickering or blushing, without twisting the mouth in a disgusted grimace or even if I can't see it I know, I know -- shooting nervous, suspicious glances at my avatar, hehe. Hey, this is the 21th century and I don't have a 10-year old blogger on my links list.

So here are the reasons why sex is good for the health. Oh, but I have to remind you that my translation ability/competence and my knowledge of medical terminologies are quite limited. So this is how I managed to translate them, as far as my ability allowed.

It increases life expectancy. Swedish , American and Scottish studies calculated it: making love three times a week could increase the life expectancy by 10 years. How? By making the heart work! During the act, heart beats 100 - 180 times per minute, eliminating greases and toxins: an excellent way of preventing cardiovascular problems and diabetes.

It protects against certain cancers. The male orgasm could prevent the cancer of the prostate. The risk to develop this cancer decreases by 30 % at a rate of five orgasms in a week, onanism included. Explanation of the researchers: the small jolts which accompany ejaculation drain the body of cancerogenic substances. Among women, not only orgasm, but also the caressing of the breasts, cause the release of oxytocin, a hormone which would preserve breast cancer by eliminating the free radicals.

It makes us more intelligent. If love makes us blind, the orgasm makes us more intelligent, on the condition of having regular sexual relations. The production of adrenalin and cortisol increases during lovemaking. However, by activating processes that brings energy to the brain, these two substances are natural stimulants of the gray matter.

It calms the pain. "Not tonight, I have a migraine!", don't say it anymore. The "sport" in the room and its cascade of hormones, particularly the endorphins, increase the resistance to the pain-- thanks to their antalgic property. Studies carried out on rodents, indicating that the effect of an orgasm would be comparable with the taking of two aspirins.

It fights against insomnia. There's nothing such as snuggling and cuddling under the quilt and falling into the arms of Morpheus afterwards. The pleasure and most of all, the orgasm, release endorphins from the brain. Under their effect, the body and the mind are relaxed, the stress evaporates and a deep sleep gains. The hormones we produce at orgasm can lead to the desire to lay back in the afterglow, and that sense of physical peace often leads to sleep. First, le monsieur as drowsiness and fatigue overcome men more rapidly (than women).

It embellishes women. Lovemaking makes a woman feel and look beautiful. It provokes the synthesis of oestrogens by the ovary. These hormones facilitate the irrigation of the skin and the production of natural collagen: contributing to skin's elasticity and flexibility.

It carves our body. Sexual activity is a form of physical exercise. The muscles demanded for this act are the abdominal ones, then those of the buttocks and the thighs. With the proviso that you got to do it regularly, it can model a silhouette. Moreover, the waves of muscular contraction in the intestines facilitates bowel transit.

It makes us lose weight. "Consumed" intensely, this" thing" burns as many calories (300) as an endurance sport could do. Attention: too fast lovemaking and/or skipping foreplay burns only 50.

It reinforces our defenses. The kiss is not just a sensual pleasure. In fact, during the intimate contact, the couple exchange a multitude of micro-organisms and other pathogenic agents and these stimulate their immune system by confronting it with a new source of infection. The oxytocin released by the kiss and the sex act reinforce or strengthen the immune system.

Voilà! Need I say more?

I Was Tagged

2005-08-15T23:55:00.000+02:00

Naomi, la coupable.

Seven things that scare you:
1. death
2. centipede
3. when I just realized that I ate something past its sell-by date
4. to step in dog's crap
5. seeing unattended luggages in the metro
6. air pockets
7. having nightmares and not being able to breathe

Seven things you like the most:
1. coffee
2. chili pepper
3. pistachio nuts
4. my bonsaïs
5. chicharon
6. newborn baby's breath
7. badoit

Seven important things in your bedroom:
1. books
2. plant
3. hand lotion
4. t.v.
5. lip balm
6. iBook G4
7. my giant

Seven random facts about you:
1. kind-hearted (?)
2. can be temperamental at times
3. hates crowd
4. unselfish
5. a dust "chaser"
6. wife
7. mommy

Seven things you plan to do before you die:
no idea, sorry

Seven things you can do:
a lot of things

Seven things you can't do:
1. go to bed without taking a shower
2. start the day w/out taking a shower
3. shoplift
4. drive a 16-wheeler truck
5. work and leave Cléms with a babysitter
6. criticize people because I'm not perfect
7. cheat on my husband

Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex:
1. clean fingernails
2. wits
3. having a sense of humor
4. thoughtful
5. neat looking
6. beautiful butt cheeks
7. generous

Seven cursed (or not) things you say the most:
1. mince!
2. merde!
3. dyosko!
4. stop!
5. anak ng we!
6. putain!
7. ano ba yan?

Seven celeb crushes (whether local or foreign):
personne. Sorry.

Ok, who wants to be tagged?

La Vie Est Belle

2005-08-01T22:20:00.000+02:00

Who would miss blogging during the 20-day retreat from a stresssful working world? When you're in the middle of a total relaxation - unwinding and recharging: catching rays while building sandcastles, playing kites during windy days, devouring moules-frites (mussels and chips) or just have a sinful ice-cream snack on the terrace of a seaside restaurant, enjoying the flavor and fun of barbecue grilling, barefooted gathering cockles and mussels at low tide, just taking advantage of the sunny though sometimes rainy - but by and large an enjoyable and anxiety-free holiday? Well, I wouldn't and I really didn't miss it at all! No deadlines, no commitments, no e-mail checkings, no reminders of work at work, just merely spending a tranquil and quality fun time with the family. Now that was a real vacation!

And oh, there was just one thing I really missed during this exciting yet serene family getaway ... a book. The sixth book or the tome 6 of JKRowling's HP series, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince". We left a few days before its midnight release party (which was held last July 15), so obviously, I wasn't able to acquire one. I and son Koko were at the WHSmith, a British bookshop in Paris, during the release parties of HP tomes 4 and 5. But this year, since my husband couldn't really choose when to take his vacation due to workloads, we had no choice but to take it a week earlier. So my husband, in a sort of way, pulled the rug out from under our plan of being there for the tome 6's release party. Well, despite extreme search for this book on the Normande and Breton coasts, I seemed to have no luck, I didn't find one. So, I just promised myself to come by it in any way necessary once we get home. Oh oui, I found HP books to be great literature. My confession, I'm as much of a Harry Potter fanatic as anybody else and I'm not ashamed to admit that this series tops the list of my favorite books!

We got back home last Saturday and the first thing I said to my husband this morning was not "bonjour", but instead "s'il te plait ... mon 'Arry", haha! Since there is no bookshop where we live that sells English-language books, and that fortunately he works in Paris, I told him to get to WHSmith or Brentano's (another British bookstore) first before showing his face to his boss otherwise he'll get stuck with him and the idea of buying my HP book will be shelved. When he arrived home from work today, even before taking off his full-face crash helmet, he handed me the book. Good grief, My Harry! Enfin! I just couldn't hide it, I was smiling ear to ear.

What more can I ask for? We just had the best vacation ever, and tonight, feeling completely filled with excitement, I'll immerse myself in the magical tales (that may be written for children but also a good read for adults) and be transported once again into another world. Good thing of having no internet during the vacation, stumbling into a spoiler page could be possible, tsk tsk.

La vie est belle (life is beautiful), eh? Ah, well ... sometimes.

The chalet we rented

Cléms and Koko on their way to fetch water essential for their sandcastle
(as the sand was too dry and impossible to work with). Being careful not to
be totally exposed to so much scorching sun, hats and t-shirts were also
indispensable.

She's been posing like this lately, Japanese style, eh? When I asked her where she'd seen this, she said "can't remember!"

The rain didn't succeed to put us in a bad mood. Cléms with papa.

Koko, who suddenly turned timid and not really wanting this picture taken, oh well...

The Mont-St. Michel in Bretagne.

Building castles in the air...
You think I'm letting the cat out of the bag? No, I don't own those love handles. But I guess I don't mind if they were mine (I just won't pose like this, don't wanna make myself look like a sex symbol you know, hehe).

Internet and Vacation

2005-07-11T00:15:00.000+02:00

Are you Addicted to the Internet?

36%

Newbie (21% - 40%)
You've started to learn that there is more to the internet than AOL. You've recovered from that email virus that wiped your hard drive and are thinking of getting DSL. You still tend to forward too many jokes and inspirational thoughts via email to your entire address book.

The Are you Addicted to the Internet? Quiz at Quiz Me!

Voilà, that's me! A newbie! LOL

It's good to get away from computers every once in a while. We've made our final decision on where to go for vacation. Oh, oui, got to "reconnect" with nature. We'll be spending a week in Normandie then take a trip down and savor the sites, culture & flavors of the Bretagne region.

Could be tiring but surely be a memorable, fun and worthwhile vacation.

You too...

Coincidence?

2005-07-07T23:45:00.000+02:00

I just thought of sharing this with you...

Yesterday at around 1:30 p.m., I and my son Koko were watching tv, quite anxious about the result -- on which city would host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games; Paris or London? At exactly 1:50 p.m., Int'l. Olympic Committee President Rogge announced that London will host the games.

"No!", we both screamed. We were so disappointed as we really wished the games be hosted by the city of Paris. My son, in particular, got so saddened I saw him wiped away his tears.

"Don't worry, by the year 2012, you'll be 22 years old. Old enough to be where you want to be. Who knows, that by that time, you'd be working in London, own an appartment which is just a block away from the stadium." I said while affectionately stroking his cheek. The thought made him smile.

Over dinner, we had the same discussion. This time with the hubby.

"So, we lost, eh?" the hubby said.

"Oui, but what can we do, London's been ahead of 3 to 4 points from the very beginning. Okay, I, too, am disappointed but I don't know, I'm kinda relieved." I said as I swallowed a bit of the chicken.

"Oh yeah? Why?"

"I don't know, I have a feeling that something's gonna happen. I can feel it. Mark my words, there'll be attentats (bombings) tomorrow. And we should thank God, Paris wasn't chosen." I responded.

This morning, the hubby called up telling me that once again, I was right.

"About what?" I asked.

"There has been a half dozen bombings in the underground/subway and buses in London!"

As of this writing, I don't know (yet) if it's because of the Olympic games or the G8 Summit. All I know is that there were indeed bombings in London, today.

"Oh, sh...! I've told you!" I was almost yelling.

"...yeah, and you should have just kept it to yourself!" He added.

Why did he say that? Ok, It's been going on for over a year now, there are things I think and swear will happen... happen. Hey, I'm not a charlatan or a wannabe fortune teller. Nope, far from it.

Okay, let me cite instances that seem a little strange to us...

Last year, I told my husband that I could feel my friend's husband leaving her to live with his mistress and that he'll be back 1 year after. (oopps, tzizmiz you might say, but let me finish...)

"You'll see, he'll be back after a year-long (s)excapade, just in time for his wife's (my friend) 41st birthday." I remember telling him that.

Just two weeks before my friend's 40th birthday, her husband left the matrimonial home. The reason, I was right, no need to elaborate.
And now, it's been a week that he's back and next weekend, we're invited for a birthday dinner, my friend's 41st birthday. See?

Another instance, when hubby's cousin announced that she was pregnant, I remember myself telling my hubby, "I am quasi sure that she'll give birth prematurely and that her husband shouldn't be away when that time comes!". The day her water broke, her husband was just starting to take a nap -- quite exhausted from a 3-day trip, just barely arrived from Mans (for its annual 24-hour motor race) with my hubby and friends (well, I was actually trying to convince him not to 'bring' his cousin's husband along). She gave birth 2 months before her due date, she was supposed to give birth this August.

I also "predicted" (see? now I'm beginning to use that word, hehe) about the hubby's brother passing the driving test but failing the Baccalauréat exams last year. That his brother's got no choice but to repeat a year and this time he'll pass. That's exactly what happened and he got the good news last Monday.

And now, these attentats in London...

Ok, ok, I know these are just coincidences but I guess, next time, I'll just have to keep it to myself and keep my mouth shut, eh? What do you think?

I'm beginning to scare my husband...

Une de moins

2005-07-01T15:17:00.000+02:00

Today is Clémentine's last day of school. As I'm writing this, she is having fun with her classmates. Well I guess she's right now dancing to the beat of "gusta la Gasolina", her favorite (brother-influenced) rap song and surely singing it too -- "tabalakasoniyaw" -- well that's how she manages to pronounce it. Yes, they're having a fete! We, parents, were asked to bring CD's our children love to be used at the party. I brought this CD to school, not surprisingly, almost everybody had the same! So I think this song will be played over and over again as this seems to be everybody's favorite...ah, kids.

How time flies! I can hardly believe that she already finished her first year (classe des petits) of preschool. As though it was only yesterday that we brought her home from the maternity clinic... as though it was only yesterday that I craved for a steaming, spicy shark fin soup and dined at a Vietnamese restaurant 3 hours before receiving peridural. Oh yes, as though... but it's been 4 and a half years! Time passes so fast!

She's changing at an incredibly fast rate! She speaks fluidly, has known her alphabet since she was 3 and can count to 59... ok she's still having a hard time remembering soixante (60), hehe. She's going to be in the classe des moyens next school year, and this time she's got to go 4 whole days a week as it is obligatory (she only went 4 mornings a week during her first year). Oh, that surely be quite tiring for me as I would prefer her to have lunch at home. Since I don't work (yet), I'd rather have her here for lunch and know what she eats rather than letting her eat at the canteen, having no idea whether she eats well or not. Problem is, the preschool is a kilometer away from our place and to get to and fro, is by car. Got to be there before 8:30 a.m., fetch her at 11:30 a.m., bring her back before 1:30 p.m. then finally, classes finish at 4:30 p.m. (Sorry, can't help prevent global warming!)

Let me tell you about the French education system. Ok, here, it starts early. Kids between 2 to 5 years old, go to maternelle (preschool/nursery) for 3 years -- petits, moyens, & grands sections. At the age of six, they enter elementary school (école primaire), it consists of the first 5 years of school, that is, CP, CE1, CE2, CM1, CM2. Between the ages 11 to 14 they move on to junior high which is called collège -- 6eme, 5eme, 4eme, 3eme or simply 6th, 5th, 4th and 3rd. Then the next step is the lycée (high school) which is the final step before école supérieure or université (college). Lycée starts from 2eme, 1er, to terminale. And for the last two years of lycée, students will choose their specialty (as to what their future career would be) and on which they will be tested in a week-long final exam called Baccalauréat , equivalent to Philippines' NCEE. Oh yes, 15 long years before getting to college -- and how long will that be? Well, as we all know, depending on what course you'd like to take up.

Gosh, Cléms has just started... one year down, une (année) de moins, a lot more to go...

Bad Day

2005-05-21T00:20:00.000+02:00

can't help it as I'm folle amoureuse with (?) this song en ce moment...

Where is the moment we needed the most
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost
They tell me your blue skies fade to grey
They tell me your passion's gone away
And I don't need no carryin' on

You stand in the line just to hit a new low
You're faking a smile with the coffee you go
You tell me your life's been way off line
You're falling to pieces everytime
And I don't need no carryin' on

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Well you need a blue sky holiday
The point is they laugh at what you say
And I don't need no carryin' on

You had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
The camera don't lie
You're coming back down and you really don't mind
You had a bad day

(Oh.. Holiday..)

Sometimes the system goes on the brink
And the whole thing turns out wrong
You might not make it back and you know
That you could be well oh that strong
And I'm not wrong

So where is the passion when you need it the most
Oh you and I
You kick up the leaves and the magic is lost

Cause you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day
You've seen what you like
And how does it feel for one more time
You had a bad day
You had a bad day

Had a bad day
Had a bad day

Daniel Powter

On Hiatus

2005-03-06T01:03:00.000+01:00

This is gonna be my last entry.

I'll be putting this blog aside for a while. I'm going on hiatus. I don't know how long it's gonna be, I'd say about 2 months...perhaps indefinitely. I'm sure you wouldn't believe me if I tell you that there's no reason why I want to do it. Well it's not that I'm being stalked, I'm not famous thus not the kind of person that gets targeted by creeps on the internet.

Ok, I haven't felt much like being online since the day my kids reproached me for being "physically present but mentally absent" and that I'm spending way too much time on blogging/bloghopping. It's just that I've been neglecting things lately because of this, well, apparently. And I feel bad. I love this blogging thing but this is nothing when compared to the love I feel for my children (yeah, mes chéris, we could play Monopoly again...). So, though this blog is only 3 months old , I'm afraid to say that I have to hang it up.

This is entirely my own decision. Nobody asked me to stop, even my husband feels sorry about me going on hiatus. Oh, I might just get myself published again someday, one of these days, in better times. I guess my children were right, I've been spending so much time staring at the computer screen . I notice that too, I'm beginning to develop small-but-undeniable-and-that-could-eventually-be-unsightly love handles! Lack of exercise, hehe.

I did enjoy writing and interacting with you blogging and non-blogging friends who have wandered in and made this Cyberspace's poor little corner a part of your leisure time. I can't express enough what your support had meant to me. I didn't have an idea that a bunch of totally witty strangers could make me feel, in some manner, loved and appreciated. Thanks very much for coming, reading and commenting.

Goodbye, maybe for now, maybe for always...

How about une petite chanson?

2005-02-28T00:15:00.000+01:00

One of my favorite songs, Pink Martini's "Sympathique". Wanna try singing in French? Please scroll down slowly...or just click on the link if you're having problems viewing the video.
C'est parti!!!

Ma chambre a la forme d'une cage
Le soleil passe son bras par la fenêtre
Les chasseurs à ma porte
Comme les p'tits soldats
Qui veulent me prendre

Je ne veux pas travailler
Je ne veux pas déjeuner
Je veux seulement l'oublier
Et puis je fume

Déjà j'ai connu le parfum de l'amour
Un million de roses n'embaumerait pas autant
Maintenant une seule fleur dans mes entourages
Me rend malade

Je ne veux pas travailler
Je ne veux pas déjeuner
Je veux seulement l'oublier
Et puis je fume

Je ne suis pas fière de ça
Vie qui veut me tuer
C'est magnifique être sympathique
Mais je ne le connais jamais

Je ne veux pas travailler
Non
Je ne veux pas déjeuner
Je veux seulement l'oublier
Et puis je fume

Je ne suis pas fière de ça
Vie qui veut me tuer
C'est magnifique être sympathique
Mais je ne le connais jamais

Je ne veux pas travailler
Non
Je ne veux pas déjeuner
Je veux seulement l'oublier
Et puis je fume

^_^

So, how did it go?

Birthday Weekend

2005-02-23T00:50:00.000+01:00

We had a very fatiguing, enervating weekend! But now I feel good, It's winter vacation, now I can breathe easy...

Our daughter Clémentine turned 4 last Friday. We celebrated her big day on the day itself tranquillement, just among us 4. It was just a simple birthday dinner, a 4-course dinner. We had smoked salmon pour l'entrée (for appetizer), the main course was entrecôte steak with mashed carrots & potatoes, Bresse Bleu, Munster and Camembert cheeses for the third course then finally finished with a small birthday cake. Cléms, very excitingly, blew out her "four" birthday candles and opened her cadeaux (presents).

Saturday morning, friends (GGiant's childhood friends) from Paris called up, to tell us that they wanted to come over to give Cléms her presents. Zut!, "I haven't gone to the supermarket yet, the fridge's empty! They should have called up yesterday!" I told the hubby. "Oh, isn't that nice of them to think of our daughter on her birthday?"he answered. Yeah, but I hate situations like this, people calling up at the last minute. "Purée!, I haven't even taken a shower!" I yelled into the phone. Anyway, we had no choice for they insisted, "begged" I guess is the appropriate term, telling us that they'll be having loads of work for the next three weeks and twas preferable to see each other that day. What else can we do? So, I finally rushed to the supermarket (after my shower, of course hehe) and did the grocery shopping earlier than planned.

We asked them to come at around 4 o'clock for the afternoon goûter (snack, merienda, teatime; whatever you want to call it). But they arrived 1 & 1/2 hours late. Mon Dieu! Can you believe that? Ok, fine. Even if these guys happen to be the most farfelu (wacky, no dull moments guaranteed!) persons I've ever met in my whole life, they're just so adorable, so gentil (kindhearted). So even if you wanna get furious, you just can't! And, since they were late and it was no longer time for a goûter, I decided to prepare the dinner instead. Fortunately, I bought a whole chicken, almost 2 kilos in weight. I rubbed it with olive oil, seasoned with salt & pepper, put stalks of rosemary, put it in the oven and basta! I also prepared tomato & mozzarella salad, avec (with) lots of European basil et voilà!

We started with apéros (cocktail drinks and aperitifs) and finished the dinner with another birthday cake. For the second time, our daughter blew out the candles and thanked them for the presents. Oh, It was already quarter past one in the morning when we wished them, "bonne nuit" (good night).

Sunday, as planned, as what we really planned...the relatives, coming over to celebrate with us our daughter's birthday. Again? Yes, we invited them the week before. So as early as 3 o'clock in the afternoon, everybody was present. Hehe, at least they were punctual eh?

Ok, we started with coffee, that took a bit long for there were ones who had two to three servings. And at around 5 o'clock, our daughter blew out her birthday candles and received her gifts...for the third time. Glasses of champagne were served with the cake.

Since not everyone's on vacation and that there were still some who would be working early the day after, I chose not to delay things. Alright, I gave them time to catch their breath after this sumptuous gâteau (cake) and served the apéros at around seven. But this time it took really looong. We only started the dinner at about half past nine. Heureusement (Fortunately), the hubby had convinced me for a spaghetti carbonara and pizza dinner. Simple and easy to prepare. He did all the cooking. He cooked the carbonara sauce and prepared the pizzas early in the morning. So we just had to boil the water for the noodles and put the pizzas in the oven. Just the same, it was almost midnight when everybody decided to get up from their seats to finally go home.

Whew! That was one long, exhausting, "caloric" weekend! (Thanks Ting Aling! ^_^) I've been too lazy to exercise lately, no wonder why I suddenly feel motivated...

The Old Paris

2005-02-13T00:04:00.000+01:00

I chanced upon an old book that apparently belonged to G.Giant's great-grandmother (her name's written on the first page). It's a photography book. A book which was once owned by someone who lived for 86 years and who has been gone many years ago, must be something of value, of great value. It is awesome, with exquisite photographs on every page, old photographs. These are not just ordinary photographs of people, but also of places in Paris taken so many years ago, the old Paris. But of course, expect that the photos are in black and white and in not-so-good-quality but you can see details of the subjects photographed clearly enough.

So for someone who's curious about how the Cathédrale de Notre Dame de Paris (Notre Dame Cathedral) looked like 152 years ago (the photo was taken in 1853) or how the famous Palais du Louvre was when Napoléon Bonaparte was still the Emperor of France (now a museum since 1791) and of course the not to forget France's symbol, La Tour Eiffel (The Eiffel Tower), this is the book that answers it all. I was totally amazed and glad to have found this book. I found it in the basement, where we put our worth-throwing-stuff. I was actually down there looking for my old collection of Michael Franks' albums, but helas! I don't know where the hubby put them. Then I found the book. It smells strongly of I-don't-know-how-to-explain-it-odour! It smells 'old'. Its cover is made of oilcloth-covered cardboard. I took it with me up to the apartment and wiped the cover with alcohol as what I always do after buying books (fingerprints disgust me, hehe), and started feuilleter (to leaf through) the pages.

The Notre Dame de Paris.(in 1853 and today, I posted a recent photo to see the difference). Click here for a better view.

An anonymous photographer took these incredible shots. The construction of the Eiffel Tower (1887-1889)At 300 metres (320.75m including antenna), and 7300 tons, it was the tallest building in the world until 1930.Other statistics include: 2.5 million rivets, 15,000 iron pieces (excluding rivets), 40 tons of paint and 1652 steps to the top. Click for a larger version.

Le Palais de Louvre, photo taken in 1839. Click here...

...and here. Le Pont Neuf, Paris' most famous bridge, photo taken in 1861.

What a marvelous discovery of a rare book!

As I was leafing through the pages, I was as though 'returned back' to the past. I started wondering...how these people were, did they live a hand-to-mouth existence? (for some of the photos reveal the situation)...or maybe it was just the so-called simple life, the real one, no chi-chis, no objections, no quibbling over unsignificant things...not like today. And the monuments, as if I was looking at them now...they looked exactly the same except for the houses, fields or farms around them, some of them no longer exist today. The women, they looked hardy...as if they functioned as men... as though they had no choice for if not they won't survive. Some of the images made me feel somewhat pitiful, and yet, I kind of wished to have my life lived in the past. Strange...

Click here...

Tondeurs de chien (Dog groomers), Un Commissionaire (a commissioner) and Une Boulangère (a woman baker with her "rolling" boulangerie (baker's shop) ) Click here for a larger view.

I wonder if I could still find a book like this in a bookstore. Anyways, I'll bring it back into existence, I'll restore it, for my children...

Music Meme. Play along.

2005-02-10T23:26:00.000+01:00

Apparently, there's this so-called "Music Meme" that's been going around from one blog to another. It's some kind of a chain letter, but it works by naming or 'tagging' 3 persons whom you wish to do the same. And a crazy yet gentil Chinese woman, Mrs T, just tagged me today! Ok, she was tagged by Obachan, who was tagged by Alicat, who was tagged by...oh, she didn't say. But what am I supposed to write about music? Call me untrendy, naff, unhip...whatever you like but honestly speaking, I'm a 100 percent nulle when it comes to music. I don't listen to it anymore! R n B? Hip-hop? What are these? Sorry friends but to tell you the truth the last CD I bought, as far as I remember, was Robbie William's Supreme. See? That was about 4 years ago when my daughter Cléms wasn't born yet and I guess having a kid at home who has a cartoon collection, I'd rather cite cartoons' titles and characters than to cite titles of songs. Anyways, for the fun of it, I'll participate, I'm playing along. What sort of music do I listen to nowadays? Ok, here it (Music Meme) goes...

What is the total amount of music files on your computer?

I don't know, hehe...

The CD you last bought?

Robbie William's Supreme (I told you, hehe)

What was the last song you listened to before reading this message?

There was no music playing, couldn't put the radio on...Cléms was watching Garfield. ^_^

Write down five songs that you often listen to or that mean a lot to you.

1. I don't like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats
2. Close to me by The Cure
3. Just like Heaven by The Cure
4. In Between Days by The Cure
5. Solitude by Billie Holiday
Hey, don't make fun of me! Don't judge me by the kind of music I'm listening to. I love these songs for they bring back memories. That's all. ^_^

Who are you going to pass this stick to (3 persons) and why?
Ok, I have many persons in mind that I want to tag, but can't do that, I'd be breaking the rule. So I'm choosing these 3 persons whom I think, updated enough in the world of music.

1. Thess. A music lover, well, I presume...her blog shows it.

2. Beng. Though she's right now in the middle of relaxation, catching rays and getting a lot of zzzz's, I think she'll find time to do this.

3. Drstel. Ah, another music lover, I'm sure she's game for this. She's got music in her kitchen too.

Voilà! So grab on to your keyboards, girls! ^_^

Mon grand bébé, Koko

2005-02-05T17:17:00.001+01:00

This is Koko, our 14-year old son. I've nothing much to say about him, except that he's a good son. He's a shy type but sympathetic and friendly. He's helpful around the house and a kid who would rather stay at home to read, play with his PS, draw or paint than to 'hang around' with other kids his age. He's active in sports and been doing really great in school, le premier in his class (hey, i'm just a proud mother no?). The only thing I hate about him is when he makes a face when I give him hugs and kisses... in front of his friends, hehehe...

He's got a little adventure lately. A French magazine, Geo-Ado, contacted him for this, en couverture (on the cover) of this month's issue. It's a magazine for teenagers. It's like the National Geographic magazine, it covers everything from culture, geography, science, technology, nature...to many more. Click here, here and here for more of Koko et compagnie's images.

Koko's been smiling ear to ear ^_^ because this petit adventure permitted him to buy himself a games console's (PS) latest model. Bien.

Any thoughts, anyone?

2005-01-30T01:01:00.001+01:00

Our daughter is turning 4 next month. We asked her on what she would like to receive as a birthday present. She said, "I want a white rat with red eyes that can catch a ball. hehe... Where can I find that? A white rat with red eyes, that's easy but I'm not sure if I can find one that has the ability to catch a ball. (eBay perhaps? lol) Then her brother asked, "Why not a dog or a cat?". There, he shouldn't have suggested that. Now she wants a rat, a dog and a cat.

No, she wouldn't have any of these. I love animals but I don't think I want one here. Having an animal at home is a great responsibility. They're not temporary, they're like family members that depend on us to love and care for them...forever.

Also, having one at home could be messy. When our son was only about 7 years old, he asked for a rabbit. I was not so keen about this at first, since at the time, we were still in a very small apartment and to add an animal that requires a cage would require a space. He burst into tears, begging, and said, "If you don't like a rabbit, gerbils would be fine.", (as if twas the solution to the problem) as he saw an ad in his school about gerbils (mouselike rodent with long hind legs and a long tail) being given to those who wish to 'adopt'. So, in the end, after several 'I beg yous' and 'rollings about on the floor', we finally bought a cage, a modified bird cage & its accessories, some toys and vitamins then adopted two, both male. Since gerbils mutiply rapidly, keeping males and females is not recommended. Troubles were, aside from chewing their toys to bits (everything was in plastic), making too much noise especially at night, scattering straws outside their cage and producing a foul smell, they were so aggressive with each other. And although we knew that we had to separate them at this point, we didn't do it for there was no more place for another cage, so we let them there, together... to the point that the one killed the other; the one left didn't last long either for it was badly wounded. Good riddance? Poor gerbils, we had fun watching them sharing the wheel, though. *sniffs*

So I'm crossing out the rat from the list. Then, why not a cat? I know that cats are naturally clean animals but it's still my job to make sure that the litterbox stays clean so that the house remains sanitary. And I should do that as often as possible because of its frequency of getting stinky. Oh, that's gonna be a lot of dirty works. Eeew! Also, cats love to explore, it might jump on tables, on bookshelves, and on cabinets and it might accidentally break or knock over fragile items. Then the cat's hair, I don't want them on beds, nor on our sofa/chairs. And the worst of all, cats love to scratch the furnitures. Oh no, not my buff leather sofa! Why do they do that? Some say, to sharpen their claws. Ok, whatever, I'm crossing out the cat too.

Now, how about a dog? Owning a dog could be a lot of fun, and a lot of work too. hehe... I guess that even a large yard wouldn't be enough for an active dog. We now live in a bigger apartment but dogs unlike cats need long walks everyday and that means that we're obliged to walk him at least 2 times a day. And if we go on vacations, who would look after him? No one in our entourage would be willing to do the task! My! Tsk tsk tsk! There are lots of things to consider so we better think before committing eh? But, but , but... on second thought, I'm sure our daughter will be delighted to have one. But what kind of dog? Actually, I don't know much about dogs races, but I would prefer one with short hair and does not shed a lot, any thoughts? Or do you have any ideas on what makes an ideal apartment dog?

Napoléon Bonaparte à Las Vegas

2005-01-24T16:41:00.000+01:00

How about a little history and a little escapade afterwards?

In 1804, Napoléon Bonaparte was coronated the Emperor of the French at the Notre-Dame Cathedral. In 2004, still reigning over the rest of the world. Year 2008, a Napoléon casino in Las Vegas.

Napoléon Bonaparte (1769-1821). Emperor of the French (1804-15). Coming to power after a coup in 1799, he defeated every European coalition against him until, weakened by the Peninsula War and the Russian campaign (1812), he was defeated at Liepzig (1813) and, finally, at Waterloo (1815). The code Napoléon remains the basis of French law.

"He fascinates me, he was such a genius. Do you feel the same way?", wrote Andreas, a 16-year old Berliner in a German forum (napoléon-online.de), a devoted to the first Empire. Sina.com, it's in Chinese these Napoléonists converse with one another, "Did you know that he was the first to foretell the boom of China?" In Russia, in Japan, same Napoléonic-crazes. In France, he's being praised for one of his signicant achievements, the Code Napoléon or the Civil Code. The year 2004 marked the bicentenaire (200th anniversary) of the Napoléonic Civil Code and was celebrated in 22 countries.

Hats off to the most popular Frenchman in the world. Capitalizing over the popularity of Napoléon Bonaparte, the American investors will be constructing his palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The casino hotel of the future, The Napoléon (foreground, right). This is Green Giant's illustration for ça M'intéresse magazine, giving us an idea on how it would look like. Click here for a much better view.

This project is estimated at over $3 billions. The complex (here, modelled in its real décor) will accomodate, in the structure of 100 meters high in the form of bicorne (cocked hat), a hotel with 3000 rooms, a 10,000 square meters casino, a spa named after Joséphine**, a phantom train that will serve its guests discover the great battles of the Empire and a lot more. The facade is decorated with l'Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel du Louvre (Carrousel of Louvre's triumphal arch) and a replica of la colonne Vendôme (Vendôme pillar).

As for their business plan, the investors/entrepreneurs have estimated 40-million Napoléon admirers in the world. So for all Napoléonic enthusiasts out there and for those who simply adore being in a far-out place like Vegas, check this out!

**Empress. Previous name Joséphine de Beauharnais; real name Marie-Joséphine Tascher de la Pagerie. 1763-1814, empress of France as wife (1769-1809) of Napoléon Bonaparte.

Couscous Royale

2005-01-19T23:57:00.001+01:00

It's been a month since we had couscous for dinner. The giant hubby had a craving for this for the past two days and asked me if we could have it for tonight's dinner. So, this morning, after taking our giantess daughter to school, I went to the supermarket and bought the necessary ingredients.

If you look at my previous post, Giving It A Try, my first real entry actually, I talked about couscous and promised to post the recipe when I have the time. Trouble is, I forgot about it. But who cares anyway? Who would care about Bokbok's couscous recipe? You have no choice, I'm posting it anyways, hehe...

Oopps, for the ones visiting this blog for the first time, no, this is not a food blog. I'll leave it to the experts. It's just that I feel obliged to post it. I'm not a cordon bleu (an exceptional cook). But at least I try and I guess I'm progressing. CRITICS are WELCOME. ^_^

Not long ago, I would take even the most simple recipe from a cookbook, carefully following the instructions, cautiously measuring the ingredients and the dish would turn out bland. But now I guess I'm doing better. The Green Giant and I have been married for 8 years now. So having a voracious husband plus two voracious kids, and with a little flick of my magic wand in the kitchen, I think I'm ready to show off some of Philippines' culinary treasures to my in-laws.

So, what is couscous royale? Well, Its a North African dish consisting of semoule (semolina) served with a meat stew.

Couscous is yellow granules of semoule (semolina) made from durum wheat. It is for the North Africans what rice and pasta are for the Filipinos and Italians. The key to preparing an authentic couscous is patience and care. It's too much work, I assure you. Experience will prove the best guide. But there are instant couscous (pre-cooked) available in the supermarkets and the directions will only require you to boil it for 1-2 minutes, drain and serve. That easy and it's as good as the one authentically prepared.

...Royale, when it is served with different kinds of meat and vegetables. Like our very own kare-kare (a meat stew with a rich nutty sauce served with a variety of vegetables) in which bagoong (a salty paste made from fermented fish or shrimp) is traditionally served with, couscous royale is served with hot sauce called harissa.

harissa hot sauce

This is how it's usually presented. I don't know if it will affect your appetite but it's how I managed to present it. This is good for one person.

Couscous Royale (for approx. 4 persons)

2 x packs of 250 gms. 'instant' couscous
1 kg. lamb ribs/shoulder-- cut into serving pieces
4 chicken legs-- cut the drumsticks off from the thighs, fried till golden brown (half-cooked), set aside
8 merguez sausages--grilled, set aside (2 sausages /person)
500 gms. zucchini--peeled (most of the skin left on) and cut into 2-inch chunks
300 gms. carrots--peeled, cut into quarters
2 bell peppers(red & green)--cored, seeded and diced
3 turnips--cut into wedges
300 gms. cooked garbanzo beans
1-2 tbsp. Ras el Hanout or 4-spice powder
2 tbsp. tomato paste
paprika-- optional
salt

Place lamb ribs/shoulder pieces in a large casserole and cover with water. Set over medium heat and bring to a boil. Removes scums. Add the ras el hanout or 4-spice powder, salt and all the vegetables except bell peppers. Dissolve the tomato paste in the stock and add to the casserole. Simmer for 30 minutes. Next, add the chicken pieces and let simmer for 1 hour. Then add the diced bell peppers and simmer for about 15 minutes. Lastly, put grilled merguez and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Cook the couscous according to package directions.
Serve with harissa sauce dissolved in 1-2 tbsp. of stock.

Done. Whew!

The Sale Mania

2005-01-13T17:13:00.001+01:00

Yesterday, January 12, marked the first day of the countrywide's 6-week winter solde (sale). Everything is up for grabs! The dates of the beginning of the sale are fixed in each department by the prefects, after consultations from the professional organizations and from the consumers, their authorized maximum duration is six weeks. And we got four weeks in the suburbs of Paris, where we live. So we have all the time in the world to take advantage of this.

But as expected, yesterday morning, hundreds of people were already in front of the department stores long before the opening time. And when the doors finally opened, they're like an ensemble of little waves joining their forces together, creating a 'tsunami'. During the sale, people tend to be more aggressive, so expect anything. There will be shoving and elbowing, exchanging of cursed words and to the point that the police would intervene to stop a brawl.

don't push! don't push! there's enough for everybody! (a common scene)

I can hardly imagine myself being one of them trying to smash the store's metal shutter or if not, crawling underneath just to be able to get in. What a humiliating scene! Mais oui, malheureusement (But yes, unfortunately) it happened and it always does, either during summer, winter or Christmas sale. These people reveal the animalistic traits in them! Sorry, ce n'est pas très gentil de dire ça (it's not so nice to say that), but can't blame me for I've already experienced being in the middle of one of those flaming stupid fights! That was quite scary! A woman pulled other woman's hair because of 'Barbie, The Bride'! ma God! Why didn't they just content themselves with 'Barbie, The Pregnant'? There were lots of them on the shelves! A scene like this could have been avoided! LOL

There are people who are capable of doing anything just to get hold of the items they want. Like what I saw on the news last night. The management of Galeries La Fayette, one of those chic department stores in France, had a hard time coping with these people. There were women fighting over a jacket... At Darty, an appliance store, there was an intense verbal dispute between two men because of a microwave! The worst thing of all is that they were aware of the presence of the cameras, that they were being filmed, and yet they still went on with their scenes. Cheap, huh?

In the Philippines and in most countries, the most heard saying in the customer service business is, "Customer is always right". Here in France, be wary! With this kind of behaviour, "Customer is always right"? Not anymore! I warn you, the customer service people could be as crude, as aggressive, and as animalistic as you are!

I'm planning to go shopping this Saturday, I don't know what awaits me but surely I'll be prepared. >_<

My Favorite Artist

2005-01-08T23:26:00.001+01:00

Clémentine, our nearly-4-year old daughter is extremely keen on painting & drawing and she has a good imagination. I get a kick out of watching her paint/draw. She was exactly a year and two months old when she started showing an interest on drawing and that made me buy her first 24-count Crayola crayons set. The problem was she never liked them. Then I eventually bought her her first set of feutres (felt-tipped colored pens). Later on, Green Giant went home with an easel, gouache paint set and a 48-sheet pad of Canson watercolor paper for her. She was just as delighted as we were!

Well, it's not really that surprising, it's the talent I guess she obviously inherited from me (just kidding, can't even draw a duck! haha!). I had never really been an artistic person! De qui then, alors? From his papa, the Green Giant! Well, it's his profession.

One of things that's nice about Cléms is that it never occurred to her to write/draw on the walls. To think that she spends a lot of times drawing/painting ALONE in the living room (while I'm busy cooking, etc.), she's never tempted to do it. Ok, We told her once that it's "not the thing to do" and she understood, because when I was younger (so much younger than today) LOL, being the eldest in the family, my mother would ask me to remove the writings on the kitchen wall my little brother had effectuated. With my son, the same thing, I had rough times scrubbing the walls to the extent that I would be leaving them in a sorry state. But with her, pas de problème.

Voila. Here are some works by my favorite artist.

a rabbit

stitch

barbie, the swan

Mc Bernick's daughter?

petit bonhomme

papa

fievel's girl

Ses oeuvres d'art (her works of art), give me a happy feeling...her way of expressing herself... she's having fun! ^_^

La galette and moi

2005-01-01T22:04:00.001+01:00

La galette des rois (a Twelfth Night cake/pastry). In France, it has become a tradition to have or share a piece of it with your family or friends. Also known as a King's cake and originally served only on January 6 (the twelfth day after Christmas), hence, the end of the holiday season. I never heard of someone in my entourage that bothers to bake this. Eversince, the cake is being bought from the supermarket and/or a boulangerie. The pastry's recipe may vary from country to country but the most popular in France is the frangipane (almond-flavoured) and an ingredient far from ordinary that makes the happening interesting is the fève, a trinket (people here usually use ceramic statuettes) or a bean that is baked inside the pastry. And whoever finds it becomes the queen or king of the party and that's why it always comes with a cardboard-made crown.

one of those ceramic statuettes

But since the pastry is often already available in the supermarkets long before Christmas, people don't bother to wait. They could have it whenever they want. It just doesn't make sense, huh?

Just like today, I'm home alone. The Green Giant and the kids just left, for his aunt has invited us to a Twelfth Night cake party (I don't get it, it's only the 7th day after x-mas). Ok, whatever. Well, it's not really a big one, just a little get-together minus the costumes of course (in some countries people dress up in outrageous costumes). Well, I didn't go with them for I'm not feeling well (yes, again). I'm not in the mood to party. It's my migraine. The cacophony of children's and adults' voices would only aggravate the pain. So here I am, tranquil, talking with my lover Mac. *LOL*

It's getting late and something in my stomach is right now executing a somersault. I am extremely hungry. Trouble is, I don't feel like cooking. I might just content myself with a few slices of ham. Poor me. And I guess it's gonna be a long night...*yawn*

Christmas and everything that goes with it

2004-12-27T17:32:00.001+01:00

I barfed all over the armrest of our buff leather sofa. Berk! Oh, that was the last thing I ever wanted to imagine, our precious furniture smeared with filth! To think that whenever my kids eat something that I thought would leave stains on it, I would always be behind them, always after them. But too late, that filthy matter was already there and was already infesting the front room. It was a real mess! And I was totally dismayed at the thought that It was me who caused it. And I had to spend the rest of the morning cleaning up, covering my nose so as not to inhale that offensive odour!

Christmas eve's dinner gave me an awful headache.It's not that I got drank for I don't drink (I'm allergic to antifreeze), It was because we got home at around 4:30 a.m. and went to bed after 5 o' clock (the part I hate the most; tired or not, it is vital to wash up and be done with ceremonies and all before going to bed). I had a great desire to sleep all through the dinner but I had to restrain myself. I mean you know, social etiquette and good manners, hehe. I was actually sleeping with my eyes wide open. *LOL* Since I didn't get enough sleep the night before, I was a kind of zapped all through the night. But I guess I managed to conceal it.

Green Giant's mother has two siblings and having a family reunion during this time of year (just as most families probably do) has become a tradition. This year, the Christmas eve's dinner took place at his aunt's house. Ok, the dinner was far-out but went rather slowly. The kids open the gifts at about 9:30 p.m. and we only started sitting down at the table at around 11 o' clock.

In general, French people, even for a simple dinner, spend at least two hours before getting to the last part of the meal, dessert and coffee. I'm talking about dinner here since, usually, people are at work during the day and they could easily content themselves with a quickie lunch, either grabbing a sandwich from a nearby boulangerie (bakery) or have steak fries in the office's nearest bistrot (a small café especially frequented by regulars). But during the weekend, may it be lunch or dinner, they would make sure to have at least a 4 course meal. So that takes looong.

It was Christmas eve and considered as one of those rare occasions for the whole family to be together, so imagine how long the dinner took before I got the chance to have my cup of 'goodnight' tea.

So here's how the evening went. We arrived barely half an hour late but the Green Giant's other aunt and her family came 40 minutes later. We then had our cocktail drinks with amuses gueules like smoked salmon, lumfish roe mini sandwiches and salted petits fours. We waited about an hour and a half before sending the children upstairs to bring out the gifts and put them under the christmas tree, (to make it look like Santa passed by since our daughter still believes in him) and the funny thing was, though the youngest among Green Giant's cousins is now 12 years old, and of course no longer believes in Santa, they still "played the game", just the same. The magical moment was when our daughter saw all the presents around the christmas tree, she cried out loud, "Merci, Père Noël! (Thank you, Santa Claus).

The first course was the mouth-watering foie gras (duck/goose liver paté) with toasts on the side, next came the scallops in cream sauce served with risotto (Italian rice) and marinated leeks. Then there were different kinds of cheese served, roquefort (a bluecheese), châtelain (this one stinks the most), fromage de chèvre (goat cheese), emmenthal and camembert then followed by a green salad with walnuts. We waited at least an hour before the desserts that included two different flavors (chocolate-praline and coffee-walnut) of bûche de noël (yule log). Then finally, some freshly-brewed coffee but I had tea instead for I was already starting to feel queasy. Since I was already stuffed by the time I finished the main course, I had to force myself with the rest. *burp* (excuse me...)

So instead of sleeping like a log, I spent the rest of the Christmas morning giving our valuable couch a good scrub. No sweat. *sigh* I just need to mellow out and enjoy the rest of the holidays.

Eh? Santa Claus doesn't exist? Comment ça?

2004-12-22T16:28:00.000+01:00

These were the questions our daughter posed us one night when we were watching t.v. with her. There was some kind of an ad on t.v. in which every presenter of that certain channel talked about Christmas -- on how they define it etc.. And there was this famous lady announcer stating, "though Santa Claus doesn't really exist, he exists in my heart...etc. etc.". Merde! I thought. I didn't say anything as if I didn't hear it, I just looked at the Green Giant, who, at that time was already looking at me and had this kind of look as though he had just received an unexpected bill, mumbling, Purée!"! Did she hear it?!" Oh oui, our daughter heard it and she questioned us right away about what this stupid lady had just said. It really was a stupid thing to say. Didn't she know that there are a lot of kids who still believe in Santa Claus? And for the people behind this channel, didn't they know that there must be kids watching, for it wasn't bedtime yet? That includes our daughter. We answered her, "Yes he exists, it's not what the lady meant, we don't know why she said that". And I guess, we convinced her.

You might think, so what? no big deal! The issue seems to be eating away at us and that we're exaggerating. No, for us, it's such a big deal. It's something of great importance and we're not exaggerating. For a kid like her, it's like 'magic'. I know how it feels, difficult to describe but I felt it when I was a child. I still remember, my father would ask me and my sisters to put socks under the x-mas tree (though our x-mas tree didn't really looked like one). Although we never received real Christmas presents, there was this 'special' feeling finding the socks full of coins and candies in the Christmas morning. The fact that Santa didn't forget to pass by, that we were in his list, believing him though for a short period of time gave us this 'magical feeling". That was such a highly pleasurable experience and that stays in my heart. *sniff*

Like any other kids her age, she still believes in Santa Claus. We don't make her but LET her believe in him and I know that, in a way, we're being dishonest to her but I guess that that's the way it is.

Christmas, fast approaching...

2004-12-17T16:14:00.001+01:00

CHRISTMAS, FAST APPROACHING
4:14 pm dec 17 2004

Our 14-year-old son was so thrilled this morning for it's gonna be the last day of the premier trimester and that starting tomorrow, he's got the right to stay long enough in front of his idiot box with his PS2. Merde alors! (ok, let me translate that...Eh Shit!) But that's fine. We've just received his school report card yesterday and yes! he's got high grades and that made him number 1 in his class. So that's alright.

Christmas day is just a week away and like any other kids, ours are quite excited particularly our almost-4-year-old daughter. She's been so impatient since the day (1st of December) she started with Playmobil's Calendrier de l'Avent Veillée de Noël. There were 24 numbered boxes filled with toys attached to the calendar and she finds it so exciting opening a box everyday to add a new part to her christmas Living Room backdrop. Not only that, she even prepared her list of toys she wishes to receive, put it in an envelope addressed to Santa Claus and mailed it. Ok, I did mail it.

As I'm writing this, oohhh...I can see Santa Claus flying outside. There are gusts of wind and the dummy Santa Claus my neighbor hanged in his terrace just flew away! Poor Santa. *sniff* I think he broke his neck. I can also see my empty flower pots blowing around in the wind. It's raining and the wind blows (at least) 120 kms/hour. That's too much for the Green Giant. That's why he didn't take his motorcycle to work. Intelligent decision.

Mince! can't have a lie-in tomorrow for tomorrow's gonna be a very busy day for me. Since most of the department stores are closed on Sundays, I've got to rush around for I still have lots of things to buy before Christmas (that's if my wallet permits me, hehe...). I don't know why but when it comes to Christmas shopping I always (seem to) wait for the last minute.I hope I won't get involved in one of those stupid fights. Two weeks ago, there's this department store that was giving 50 percent off on toys. Even the most expensive ones, were half-priced. Trouble was, there were people who were stealing from other people's trolleys when they found out that there was none left on the shelves. Pigs! So I just hope that there won't be nasty surprises for me tomorrow for the DP is giving 50 percent off on lingeries. Yippee!

Giving it a try

2004-12-15T16:24:00.000+01:00

I created this blog yesterday but I was a bit hesitant to do the posting right away for I wanted us to have a lazy dinner and that I already had to start the cooking. The Green Giant was miraculously home early. Then I finally told myself, c'est bon , posting can wait.

We, by the way, had couscous for dinner. Well it's a dish originating in North Africa, consisting of semoule (semolina), served with a meat stew. I put chicken legs, lamb chops, merguez sausages and some vegetables. It usually comes with harissa sauce (hot sauce). I got one from Tunisia. Well I might just post the recipe some time.

I still remember when we were still living in Paris, almost always, we found ourselves dining in this restaurant, "Cafe Modern", devouring couscous. But after several calculations, I found out that we've been spending so much for something I knew I can cook at home. Considering I love to cook, oh, 'love' is such a strong word. Well, considering I CAN cook, I thought of trying to prepare this dish at home. Pourquoi pas?'. Why not? All I just needed was to find a recipe for this or just improvise (I knew then about the ingredients). And there was the Green Giant saying, "Fais attention (be careful), there's gonna be lots of splattering and washing in the kitchen!". He was right but my first attempt turned out to be just fine. The color and the thickness of the sauce looked like it and most importantly, it tasted like it. ehem.

You might ask, why does the Green Giant love couscous that much? Arabo ba siya? No, he's not. He's French, pure. Pure daw o! It's just that he's not difficult to please. He's not choosy. He just loves to eat though his physique doesn't show it (he's lanky) hehe... I can always prepare something new for him and he'd end up saying,"mmm... that was good." But, oh, by the way, the only thing he won't take into his mouth and swallow is our very own, balut. Neither would I, just can't blame him.

oh mince!

2004-12-14T17:16:00.000+01:00