A Birthday Food Trip at Soderno

(OK, I admit I was pretty busy during the holiday season.  But now I’m back updating my blog again and, hopefully, I get to catch up on all the stuff I want to write about, now that I have gotten over the holiday hullabaloo.  So here goes…)

Last December, hubby and I had a late-night date at The Soderno @ Molito, the newest weekend lifestyle market to hit south of Metro Manila.  It was actually my request from hubby to treat me to a date to celebrate my birthday since we rarely go out as a couple (minus the kids) these days.  It wasn’t a romantic candle-light dinner that other girls may dream about, though.  My adventurous spirit made me want to go on a food trip instead, since I’m such a ‘foodie’ and I like exploring new dishes in the kitchen.  When it comes to food, I’m fearless in exploring different kinds of food, trying out different flavors and specialties from all over the world.  And with the new trend of food bazaars and weekend lifestyle markets, I also want to discover the different “gimmicks” that other small-to-medium entrepreneurs are offering these days.  I was curious with Ortigas’ Banchetto and BGC’s Mercato Centrale weekend market, but haven’t gotten the chance to visit them yet.  So I got so excited when I learned last year that there’s one like Mercato that will be opening in Alabang, where I’m nearer.

DIY #1: Homemade Edible No-Cook Play dough

My little kids have always been fond of playing with clay.  And I find it a good exercise to develop their fine motor skills.  My artsy girl is especially interested in creating simple clay art pieces.  However, after several uses of their play dough, they usually harden when left exposed in the air for a prolonged time, which make them not moldable anymore.  And it just frustrates me when especially the expensive imported ones were not kept inside their containers and left exposed to harden.  I thought it’s a waste of money to keep on buying the expensive play dough when I discovered that you can in fact make one right in your own home using simple ingredients that are usually already available in your own kitchen.  Since then, I just make play dough at home, and I found it more fun making it with the kids!  What’s good about it, too, is that this play dough recipe is edible, no need to cook, and doesn’t easily harden.

Tips to Peaceful Living

Are you stressed?  Are you like the man in the photo who, when under stress, tends to overeat to the point of gluttony?  Or are you like the woman in the photo who looks old for her age because of stress at work?  In our fast-paced, highly-competitive and modern world, I think no one is exempted from experiencing stress.  Even a baby inside a mother’s womb experiences stress on certain occasions!  Indeed, everyone will experience stress, whether major or minor, whether positive or negative.  Certainly, stress has become part of every human being’s life that cannot be completely avoided.  Given its inevitable nature, the question now is – how well do you handle stress in your life?

Some people handle negative stress well, and it has little effect on their emotional or physical health.  Others, who are very negatively influenced by it, become the victims of fatigue, chronic headaches, irritability, change in appetite, withdrawal, high blood pressure, insomnia and gastrointestinal disorders.  Negative stress creates a tremendous breeding ground for illness.  Researchers estimate that stress contributes to over 80% of all major illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, endocrine and metabolic disease, skin disorders, and infectious diseases of different kinds.  And even if the illness is not caused by stress, it most certainly is made worse by it.

Weekend Lifestyle and Organic Market Soon to Hit South Metro!

I noticed more and more weekend markets are emerging in the metro these days.  I remember the very first weekend market I’ve been to, and it wasn’t actually here in the Philippines, but in Bangkok, Thailand, and it’s famously called Chatuchak.  Oh, don’t I just love and miss Chatuchak!  Chatuchak is a 35-acre market area that is home to more than 8,000 market stalls, and is actually one of the largest weekend markets in the world.  Similar to our local Divisoria, it’s where you can discover great finds and a wide variety of goods - from food and beverage, clothing and accessories, handicrafts and ceramics, furniture and home decors, down to antique and collectibles, pets, plants and almost everything under the sun, at prices cheaper than in most commercial establishments in Bangkok.
 

Chatuchak Weekend Market

Here in the Philippines, however, the very first weekend market I encountered is the one at The Lung Center of the Philippines in Quezon City.  Opens on Sundays at The Lung Center hospital grounds, Mom used to come here for some fresh organic veggies and some local delicacies.  The other weekend markets I know are the Salcedo Saturday Market in Velasquez Park, Salcedo Village, and the Legaspi Sunday Market along Herrera and Rada corner Legaspi Streets, Legaspi Village, both located in the sprawling Makati City residential-commercial neighborhood.  Then there’s Mercato Centrale, situated at the corner of 34^th Street and 8^th Avenue (across MC Home Depot) in the new cosmopolitan business hub, Bonifacio Global City, in Taguig.

Parenting Tips: How to Positively Influence Your Child

Inspired by our recent trip to a pottery farm, I remember a beautiful poem I first encountered in a parenting seminar.  Likened to a potter, parents have the influence to mold a young child’s innocent and yielding heart like a piece of living clay.  And the poem goes…

A Parent’s Influence

I took a piece of plastic clay

And idly fashioned it one day;

And as my fingers pressed it still,

It moved and yielded at my will.

I came again when days were past,
The form I gave it still it bore,
And as my fingers pressed it still,

I could change that form no more.

I took a piece of living clay,
And gently formed it day by day,
And molded with my power and art,
A young child's soft and yielding heart.
I came again when days were gone;
It was a man I looked upon,
He still that early impress bore,
And I could change it never more.

- Author Unknown