Staple Spaghetti Sauce

This concoction came about because we had to clean out the Taft Avenue refrigerator of Lola:

1/2 bottle of basil pesto sauce (olive oil)
5 cloves of garlic
2 white onions, sliced into bits
1/2 kilo of ground beef (Monterey is good)
2 cubes flavoring (we usually use Knorr beef, sometimes Maggi)
1 stick chorizo Bilbao, sliced thinly (the one we used came from Senor Alba, Purefoods is also okay)
1 bottle of tomato garlic nacho dip (we used Bravo)
1 liter tomato/spaghetti sauce (we used Clara Ole, 3 Cheese flavor, Hunts/Del Monte/Heinz are okay)
1 pack 250g all purpose cream (most of the time we use Alaska, this time we used Nestle)
1 kilo cooked pasta (take your pick, we usually use spaghetti or fettucini)

Saute the garlic & onions in the basil pesto, add in the ground beef and the flavoring cubes.  Stir for around 2 minutes and add the sliced chorizo.  Turn around until golden brown, then lower the heat.  Add in the tomato garlic dip and the tomato/spaghetti sauce.  Add salt & pepper to flavor.  Simmer for a while and pop in the all-purpose cream to get that creamy effect.  Pour over cooked pasta, and top with a sprinkle of grated cheddar (Kraft, Magnolia and Che-Vital are okay, but I'm really a QBB fan) or grated Edam (since Doble Ganza can no longer be found, Pato is okay, but I prefer Marca Pina).

I remember a time when Chorizo Bilbao El Rei (came in large green cans) was my top choice, but because of the high price (I think thats around P2,500 a can), we've been shifting to other chorizo brands which can be bought in smaller quantities.  Hehehe... Vicky has been asking why her supply of Don Anastacio's chorizo has been dwindling over the summer months--the kids just love the darn thing and we've been using it as the regular flavoring!  Hush, hush.... don't tell!

Sebastian's Cold Comfort

Sebastian's ice cream has been a long-time favorite of the kids.  So right after the sweaty grind of the race-track, we all went to nearby SM Mall of Asia to enjoy some super premium ice cream.  We noticed that Sebastian had new surprises, like blue cheese ice cream, Yakult ice cream, Dulce de Leche, Buko and other Filipino flavors.  However, the kids felt they had to stick with their all-time favorites--Chilly Burgers!  Kenneth had midnight truffle, Angela took vanilla caramel while Monique savored her choco-vanilla truffle.  For around P100 each, that was a real treat!

Go-Kart

Took Monique and cousins Angela & Ken to the Boomland Kart Trak where they spent 30 minutes zooming around the track.  They sure looked great with their helmets, overtaking each other in zig-zags and slamming onto the tire divides whenever they would make slight miscalculations.  They've been to this track a few time before, and Mang Ruben, the circuit manager, noticed the improvement in their driving skills.  Well, except for the fact that twice on the approach to the pit stop, Angela slammed onto Ken!  Close...whew!  While Mon was busy with his driving lessons, everyone else was zooming it up on the track.  Way to go, kids!

3 School Rules

Another Message to Monique:

1. Learn Something--it's not necessarily learning the classroom stuff.  There is much to learn in life in and around the classroom.
2. Make Plenty of Friends--it's about living a life, and friends are part of your life.  Life is a race to make plenty of friends.  I mean real friends, not fakers.
3. Enjoy!--life is so precious, every single second is meant to be savored, enjoyed!

As you grow older, your school years will not be judged on the basis of your grades, but on the basis of the afore-mentioned rules.  As the Vulcans say, live long and prosper!

Highest Paid Athletes

And I thought Manny Pacquio (boxing) was in the top 10 on the list of highest paid athletes in the world.  Apparently not, it appears that he's "just" no. 25 on the list, making only $25 million over the past year.  Top on the list is still the struggling Tiger Woods (golf) with $75 million; Kobe Bryant (basketball) and LeBron James (basketball) coming in a far second and third with $53 million and $48 million respectively... Roger Federer (tennis) is no. 4 at $47 million and Phil Mickelson (golf) comes in at no. 5 with $46 million.  Whew!

Intelligence, Smarts & Wisdom

Message to Monique:  Remember our discussion on Intelligence, Smarts & Wisdom?  Let's run through it again-- Intelligence is the inate ability of a person to use mental and emotional tools, often measured as a quotient of mental age over chronological age (IQ) and a quotient of emotional age over chronological age (EQ).  That's like having a sponge--different materials like latex, polyurethane and cloth have different physical characteristics.  Smarts is when the intelligence is placed and utilized in a physical enviroment--different liquids bring out different responses in different sponges, much like people reacting differently in different situations.  Some shine, some act with mediocrity, some just fail.  Finally, wisdom is smarts earned over time--it's the worn sponge that has been used in the sink, the toilet and the countertop.  Been there, done that.  Win some, lose some.  The important thing to remember is that your choices will make you who you are.  Life is about choices, it's not just achieving some goal, but it's really about making choices consistent in the way you define yourself.  It's the journey dear, not the destination.  Wisdom is just the by-product in the pursuit of having a great journey! I love you.

American Pie

I've always been fascinated about Don Mc Lean's timeless song about the 1959 plane crash that led to the death of Richie Valens, Buddy Holly and the Big Bobber.  Subconsciously, I always clench my fists when I hear that portion of the song play!  Now a Michigan town was recently named by some smart-ass expert as one of the dying cities of America, and 5,000 residents turned out to prove the critics wrong.  Don Mc Lean sang a song about death, and of the things that outlive us all.  Check out the video, and be amazed at the unity amidst racial diversity--this is so "American Pie!"  Click right here for the YouTube version-- Grand Rapids Lip Syncs American Pie