Today Post::Christmas Holiday - The Branson Way

Christmas holidays in Branson begin the first week of November where shows will feature special holiday sets, costumes and music throughout about half of the show. Carols and hymns both old and new will be sang during the shows. There will be special effects that will surely put you in the holiday spirit.

Christmas will be perfect time to visit Branson because there will be a 17 foot talking Christmas Tree that interacts with the kids (whatever their age) and a magnificent 7 story special effects Christmas Tree with lights synchronized to music. There is also the ANNUAL ADORATION PARADE, an old-fashioned Christmas parade with bands and floats passing through the streets of historic Downtown Branson and Branson Landing. The climax of the event is the lighting of the nativity scene atop Mount Branson. The Silver Dollar City will be transformed into a holiday paradise circa.

With over 100 shows, theme parks, tons of attractions, the lakes, mountains, shopping and world-class golf, entertainment in Branson is so varied that everyone will find many things to enjoy while staying in the famous Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing or at Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel. These hotels offer different packages that you and your family can enjoy during this Christmas season. You can choose any of the following:

1. It's a Wonderful Life Package, starting at $329 per night and running from Nov 15 thru Dec 23, you'll experience the ultimate holiday getaway for shopping, relaxation and entertainment.
2. Santa Claus is Coming Package. Santa is packing up his sleigh and is on his way to the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing! This package includes : Deluxe, overnight accommodations for four people, Two children’s gifts, Full breakfast for four, and A portrait with Santa. Rates starting from 209/night. This offer is from Nov. 23, 2009 - Dec. 31, 2009.
3. Polar Express Package. All aboard the Polar Express! Join the Hilton Branson Convention Center for this magical ride. This package includes : Deluxe accommodations for four, First class excursion with dining car seating on the train provided by Branson Scenic railroad, Hot cocoa and cookies along with a souvenir ceramic mug. This offer is from Nov. 06, 2009 - Dec. 19, 2009. Rates starting at 269/night.

   

Today Post::Food Trip Friday #17

It is Friday and I can’t wait to get home… I am looking forward to cook some blue crabs at my own kitchen tonight.

Anyway, my entry for this week is Pork BBQ in sticks! On every party that we have here with my Filipino friends we always have this. The good thing with BBQ sticks is… this is delicious and all our American husbands love this too.

PORK BBQ

For more yummy entries please visit us at Food Trip Friday.

Today Post::Sauteed Pork and Bokchoy

I always love eating vegetable. I cook whatever is available in the local grocery store. When I saw that the store had a fresh looking bokchoy I bought one bunch and cook it.

Ingredients:
bokchoy (separate the white part and the green part)
pork
garlic
onion
black pepper
soy sauce
oil
water

Directions:

• Heat oil in the wok.
• Sautee garlic and onion. Add pork.
• Season with soy sauce and black pepper. Cook for two minutes.
• Add the white part of the bokchoy and add water. Bring to boil and cook until the stalks of bochoy is almost done.
• Add the green part and cook until done.
• Season with salt if needed.

———
This is actually a plain ginisang pechay!

Today Post::Fruit Basket

Mischa had knee surgery yesterday so we are staying with her to help her out.

Today, she received a fruit basket from her work. This is the first time that I see real fruit basket and it is really cool. Of course, we had fun eating them…

The fruits in the basket are: cantaloupe, honey dew, pineapple, grapes and strawberry. Isn’t it pretty? The flower which is made of pineapple and cantaloupe is really cool….

Today Post::House Extention and Renovation

Our house extension and renovation in the Philippines is almost done. Actually, this is my sister’s big project of the year. She wanted another 2 bedroom extension on our existing house and renovate the kitchen. They plan on going home next year so they want a room for themselves with shower and bath.

She already told the contractor that she wants a big space for the shower and bath on both rooms. She wanted to have a separate bath tub and Shower Enclosures. She got an idea about shower enclosures when she visited Custom Glass Shower Enclosures’ website. My sister was really excited when she found out that the contractor knows how to install shower enclosures as he has done it before.

Few more final installation on some things and our house extension and renovation will be done. We expect to have two wonderful and spacious guest rooms and a bigger kitchen. I can’t wait to come home and see it for myself. Of course, I will be staying in one of the newly constructed guest rooms.

Today Post::Calendars

Calendars are one of the most common give-aways during the holiday season. In the Philippines, calendars are hang everywhere. Calendars varies in sizes and designs. Some calendars are custom made per family as a way of Christmas greetings.

When you visit houses in the Philippines, I am sure you will never miss seeing a calendar in the wall because for us calendars are very useful. We always like the calendars with high tide and low tide notations on it. We also like the one that shows the monthly moon cycle. Most people also owns pocket calendars because it is the easiest way to keep track of dates and appointments.

Today Post::Dining @ Mom's (last Saturday)

Mom invited us to have dinner with them last Saturday. We had a lot to eat for sure. Look at what we had…

Garlic Bread… one of my favorites

French fries…

Baked Beans.

Devil eggs

Smoked Ribs.

Dan made his very famous smoked ribs which Andrea love so much. Even when Andrea was younger, she will love to munch this ribs. Dan’s ribs is the best … even better than any restaurants we have been to.

Today Post::Free Home Insulation

Homes need to be properly insulated so that there will be less electricity bill. How I wish there is a program like the one that is offered by The Australian economic stimulus package. The Australian Federal Government is providing $1600 to every home owner to insulate their home. Now isn’t that nice? An estimated 440,000 homes in Australia will receive this grant so that they can buy insulation materials for their homes.

Installing Insulation Batts will help households reduce their energy use, cut their power bills by around $200 a year, and increase the comfort and value of their homes. The insulation rebate from government will surely help shoulder the cost when a householder decides to install insulation batts.

A householder can chose to install a Thermal and Acoustic batts for their home because these type of insulation batt is very easy to install. Daniel Yliche of Insulation Batts Australia sells insulation at building standards that exceed the Australian Standards Code. Check their website today and take advantage of the free insulation grant provided by the Australian government.

Today Post::Enamor them with lunch

Preparing copious lunch salads is always a treat, and double portions come in handy when visitors surprize you unannounced. Although this Bean Salad from my favorite book Super Salads (Dutch ISBN 90-5920 164 7) by Michael van Straten can also serve as a small appetizer before a meal, as main dish it managed to captivate my guest on a sunny high noon in October and set his blood pumping.

Bean Salad with Eggs and Curry

4 hard boiled eggs
1 can (300 g) of green flageolet beans
1 can (300g) of white beans
2 tablespoons curry powder
6 tablespoons of mayonaise
1 red onion
2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

Prepare and combine all ingredients.

Note: I used parsley instead of cilantro, and only white beans. Generous amounts of curry powder give this dish pizzazz. The salad is said to stimulate blood circulation.

Today Post::Devil Eggs

These devil eggs are from my Mom Lori’s kitchen. We ate these (together with smoked ribs, french fries, baked beans and garlic bread) when we had our dinner yesterday. They invited us for dinner so that I don’t need to cook since we will be traveling today.

Ingredients:
Boiled eggs
Sweet Pickle relish
mayonnaise
diced onion
salt
pepper
paprika

Directions:

• Sliced the boiled egg in half and remove the yolk. Reserve the egg white.
• Mix yolk, mayonnaise, diced onion and sweet pickle relish.
• Season with pepper and salt. Mix thoroughly.
• Put back the egg yolk mixture to the egg white.
• Sprinkle with paprika

Today Post::Tshirts

I adore tshirts with different designs and different words. I love wearing tshirts with funny drawings or funny words too. Whenever I people watch especially when we are in the mall, tshirts always catches my attention. It is true that there are people who likes to wear offensive t shirts but for me, it is more funny than it is offensive. Wearing this type of tshirts will surely give a laugh to somebody.

I was looking for funny tshirts when I found Bad Idea Tshirts. They have over a thousand designs of their funny tshirts. They offer 50% discount and your order will be processed in 2-3 days. Check them out… I have already ordered mine. Take a look at the design … isn’t that funny?

Today Post::Recovery Plan

In the field of IT infrastructure, disaster happens at times we don’t expect… we need to be prepared. These disaster could be disk crashes, power failures, human error, natural disasters or something else. We need to have disaster recovery plan so that we can recover and restore valuable data.

Today Post::Food Trip Friday #16

It is Yummilicious Friday again for all of us Food Trippers. Here’s my entry…..

PINAKBET

Eating pinakbet is not a usual treat for me. I can only have this when there are get together among friends. Gee who can resist these veggies with pork and shrimp fry??? Not me!!!!

Today Post::Crispy Beans

Jack and Ate Fe visited us today. They live in Florida but they were traveling in different states all the way to Toronto, Canada. On their way home, they wanted to see us, so they spend a night here in Alabama.

We decided to eat out tonight, and we ended up in New China Buffet. I love this buffet because it is very clean and the food is really good. They have many choices. Dinner rolls with honey butter, whole mushrooms, shrimps, sesame chicken, coconut shrimp, fried shrimp, crab legs and so on…

My favorite in their buffet is their crispy beans. I just can’t cook something like this. I really wish I can…

Today Post::Lemon Grass and Ginger Pears

Ingredients:

1½ cup (375g) sugar
1 tbsp finely shredded fresh ginger
1 stem lemon grass (white part only), bruised and cut into 5cm length
4 firm ripe beurre bosc pears, peeled mint leaves, to garnish

Method:

• Place the sugar and 2 cups (500ml) water in a saucepan and stir over low heat until the sugar has dissolved. Add the ginger and lemon grass, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Gently lower the pears into the syrup and poach over low heat for 10 minutes, or until tender, turning occasionally. Remove the lemon grass.
• Transfer the pears to a serving dish and spoon a little syrup over them. Garnish with mint and serve with lemon sorbet.

Today Post::Parent's Choice Formula on SALE

When it comes to infant formula, there is no difference between the most expensive brand and the store brand formula in terms of nutrient specifications. All infant formulas marketed in the United States are subject to the same exacting standards of the FDA, pursuant to the Infant Formula Act of 1980 and the subsequent LSRO report commissioned by FDA in 1998.

Having different store brand formulas which are sold at more than 35,000 retailers, grocery stores, and drugstores such as Walmart, Sam's Club, Target, Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, and Babies "R" Us, give parents a chance to save because these store brand formulas are way cheaper. Parents can save as much as 50% if they will buy store brand formula.

The Parent’s Choice Infant Formula , a store brand formula exclusively distributed by Walmart is available as a special buy. Parents can buy 2 cans for only $10! For a limited time, Parent's Choice Milk Infant Formula is on sale in a 15.5 oz (440 gram) can for $5.00 each. Parent's Choice Gentle Infant Formula for babies with fussiness or gas is on sale in a special 12.9 oz (366 gram) can for $5.00 each. This is a very good deal.

Like all formulas, Parent's Choice baby formula is nutritionally complete and meets the strict nutritional guidelines determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. So, why pay more for those big-name baby brands when you can have it at a lower price with Parent’s Choice?

Today Post::Fruity Cheerios

Andrea has new treat. It is Fruity Cheerios. She loves this so much! The other day, I wanted to give her cheerios and milk for her breakfast. She said NO. She doesn’t like her cereal to have milk in it. So I ended up eating the cheerios with milk. She likes eating this fruity cheerios like a finger food.

You might want to give your little ones with this new cheerios. The lovely colors will definitely catches their attention. This is also a very healthy treat for your kids because this contain whole grains, natural flavor from real fruit juice, and less sugar.

Today Post::Book on Weight Loss

Weight loss is a struggle to many individuals. It is true that there are so many ways on how to loss weight but still, a lot fail to do so. Different people requires different way of losing weight. What works for me, will not necessarily work for you.

If you are desperately trying to loss those extra pounds, you need to understand the truth about losing weight. It helps if you will read the book entitled The Science of Weight Loss. This book is written by John Josefson. In this book he will tell you all he knows about the truth on how to lose weight. Get a copy today, it is available at amazon.com!

Today Post::Roast Beef and Mushroom in Wine Sauce

I had a leftover from the roast beef that I cooked last night, so I decided to make something out of it.

Ingredients:
Roast beef (sliced in bite size)
1 med onion (sliced)
mushroom
wine ( i used white wine)
black pepper
garlic salt
butter

Directions:

• Heat butter. Add onion and cook for 1 minute.
• Add beef and mushroom. Season with black pepper and garlic salt
• Add wine and bring to boil
• Simmer until half of the sauce is gone.
• Serve with rice

Today Post::Nuts and bolts

Woe betide the service who provides my land phone line and internet: I’ve been without any connection since 11 October, and many many phone calls later with members at the technical desk, they promise a solution by the end of the week. Pictures and recipes are stored up, just like nuts and apples. I hope to continue my usual activities soon. PS: I see the movie Julie and Julia on Saturday!

Today Post::Beef and Onion

I made a very delicious Stir Fry Beef and Onion. If you like to eat sweet onions like me this is a recipe that you can’t resist.

Ingredients:
Beef (sliced in bite size)
2 pcs sweet onions (quartered and separated)
Cooking wine
Soysauce
black pepper
garlic powder
cornstarch
sesame oil
oil

Directions:

• Marinade beef with cooking wine, soysauce, black pepper, garlic powder, corn starch and sesame oil. Set aside.
• Heat a little oil in a wok. Add onion. Cook for two minutes. Remove from wok and set aside.
• Add marinated beef in the wok. Cook until it is done. Add onions. Mix together.
• Serve with rice.

Today Post::Citrus Salad

Ingredients:

3 ruby grapefruits
3 large oranges
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp whole fresh mint leaves

Method:

• Remove th peel and pith from the grapefruit. Cut in towards the middle of the fruit alongside one of the membranes (do not cut the membrane). Cut on the other side of the segment in the same way, then ease out the segment. Use this technique to work your way around the fruit. Repeat with the other fruits and combine the segments in a bowl.
• Place the sugar, cinnamon stick and mint in a small saucepan with 3 tablespoons water and stir over low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved. Remove the cinnamon and drizzle the syrup over the fruit.