A day spent in the park - Quezon Memorial Circle

My youngest gets bored and kept on asking me on a daily basis that we need to visit the park. He serves as a constant reminder, like a digital diary that is popping up and humming its alarm tone in a favorite not so well known acoustic melody of "Nothings' Gonna Stop Us Now". Well, I have a very good reason not to walk the way it used to be. My feet are in agony due to my overweight status. You read it right! I have an excess flab of about 15 pounds. Too bad, my physician reiterates to me a couple of times during our one hour meeting that I need to cut off the unwelcome, unwanted, and unhealthy fats I gained over the past two years. Diet or suffer pain? I presume you don't want a collection of analgesics and non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in your purse. Duh! So let's do it. 

Quezon Memorial Circle is a national park situated inside a circular traffic island along Eliptical Road fronting Quezon City Hall. It has a mausoleum which stands at 66 meters tall where the remains of late President Manuel L. Quezon and his wife, first Lady Aurora Quezon laid to rest. In 1979, by virtue of a presidential decree, President Ferdinand E. Marcos mandated the site as National Shrine.

How can I possibly concentrate with what I'm doing here? The rustic smell of the iron bars was disturbing. Elections were over and winning candidates were already proclaimed. Oh how on earth these officials won’t even shed money for repainting public facilities such as this. Anyway, I started stretching, walking, jogging, and ended up joining a group dancing in a beat of Gangnam Style.

We stroll the area and found a lot of stalls selling goods such as foods, toys, clothes, apparels, and ornamental plants. There was a large amount of visitor during that day considering weekend and bonding moments for most families. Capturing this shot was not easy, these boys are camera shy. 

There's a new attraction in the park and I'm pretty sure every child will want to try, Go-Kart Riding. Your kid will enjoy 20 minutes ride for only P40. The ride is really short making them ask for another.

There's also boat ride and zip line, looks like you are in Burnham Park in Baguio City. We  haven't tried this one, maybe on our next visit. Don't miss the opportunity to have your photo shot on this spot. A lot of my friends were asking where this was taken.

There are several activities to enjoy such as having picnic, biking, playing in the huge play station and watch the dancing fountain glitters at night. 

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Chess Nervous

I am more excited for my eldest son's upcoming event on Saturday, June 8, 2013. He will be joining chess tournament, his first time aside from competing inside the school campus. The said event will take place on King's School Manila. He is a member of their varsity club competing against other schools. He won in his first attempt by getting third place.
I don't know if he can survive the game. For sure, he will not forget the experience being a newbie. I a mom who does not know any of the moves or concept of that board game, yet happy to see my child's interest and I know he can excel in that field.

Filipino Style Macaroni Dish

Craving for pasta recipe? Here's one easy to cook that I'll be sharing with you. My kids loved its taste, precious and priceless as compared to restaurants and fast food chains. Instead of using spaghetti noodles, I used elbow macaroni. It's been one of the favorite foods during parties and any occasion. I consider this as a comfort food for children, especially to my youngest that is very choosy and extremely difficult to feed.

*History of Macaroni

Macaroni is a variety of dry pasta made with durum wheat. Elbow macaroni noodles normally do not contain eggs, (although they may be an optional ingredient) and are normally cut in short, hollow shapes; however, the term refers not to the shape of the pasta, but to the kind of dough from which the noodle is made. Although home machines exist that can make macaroni shapes, macaroni is usually made commercially by large-scale extrusion. The curved shape is caused by the different speeds on either side of the pasta tube as it comes out of the machine. The name derives from Italian maccheroni, however Italians use maccheroni to refer to any form of pasta, whatever the shape, whether it is straight, tubular, two-inch or longer pasta. A different name, chifferi orlumaconi, refers to the elbow-shape pasta of this article.

According to legend, macaroni was brought to Italy by Marco Polo, returning to Venicefrom China in 1292. This hypothesis has long been disproved, since it seems that macaroni was already used in Italy at least a century before, like pasta in general; Moroccan geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi, who lived in Sicily, documented macaroni in Sicily and in particular in Trabia.
*Source: Wikipedia

Ingredients:

• 200 g Elbow Macaroni (snack pack)
• 1 Can 150 g Corned Beef
• Hotdog or Chicken Franks, sliced
• 250 g Spaghetti Sauce (sweet style or Filipino style)
• Onions, minced
• Garlic, minced
• Basil leaves
• Oregano leaves
• Grated cheese (cheddar of parmesan)
• Cooking Oil
• Sugar (optional, for added flavors)

Cooking Procedure:

1. Pour water in a medium sized pot, put in the stove then bring to a boil.
2. Put some salt and 1 tbsp of cooking oil.
3. Cook pasta according to instructions seen at the back label of the packaging.
4. Stir pasta to prevent from sticking, cook until tender or 'al dente'.
5. Drain then set aside.
6. In a separate sauce pan, sauté garlic and onions.
7. Add corned beef and hotdog, cook for 2 minutes.
8. Seasoned with pepper, basil leaves, and oregano (I used McCormick).
9. Put spaghetti sauce then simmer for 5 minutes.
10. Remove from heat.
11. Put sauce on top of macaroni and add grated cheese.
12. Serve and enjoy!

Benefits of Drinking Green Tea

I’m recently taking a cup of clear green tea in mint flavor while taking a break from doing my household chores. I was surprised to see that there’s a “FEEL GOOD TIP” at the back label of my tea bag. It says “Meet your friends for lunch today”. Sounds familiar, it resembles fortune cookies wherein there’s a small note with words of wisdom or a prophecy wrapped inside. Tea manufacturer’s thought of different ways to attract their consumers. I’m used to drinking tea nowadays due its health benefits.

Green Tea is prepared from unfermented leaves from Camellia sinensis  that have undergone minimal oxidation during processing. 

Health Benefits:

• boost metabolism and help burn fats
• regulates blood sugar level
• reduces the risk of high blood pressure
• improves ratio of good cholesterol (HDL) and reduces bad cholesterol (LDL)
• prevents Atherosclerosis (thickening of the arterial wall due to fatty deposits)
• reduces the risk of cardiovascular diseases
• helps prevent dental cavities
• reduces the risk of developing many forms of cancer
• delay deterioration caused by Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases
• reduces inflammation and slowing the breakdown of cartilage in Arthritis
• provide a relaxing and calming effect

click here for full benefits