My Best-Seller Siomai Recipe

It's Christmas Day. And as a present for my readers, I'd like to share with you one of my best home-made recipe. 

I used to cook in a diner and one of our best-sellers is my Pork Siomai. Siomai (also called shaomai or shumai) or pork dumpling is a traditional Chinese food often served as a dim sum. There are different varieties of siomai. There's the poppular pork siomai, the beef siomai, the chicken siomai, the vegetable siomai, and the fast-rising in popularity, the Japanese siomai.

A Happy Birthday Greeting!

Carrot cake in whipped cream frosting. I made
 this cake last year as gifts for friends. The nice
photo  was taken by my loving husband.
Will post my carrot cake recipe here soon.

It's been awhile since I last made an entry in my blog. I had been very busy these last few months. I was busy with school, with a new job, and being a Mom to my two hyperactive kids. 

I posted here an image of a cake in this article. So what's with the cake? What's there to celebrate?

Cakes are usually associated with celebrations and birthdays. And today, we are celebrating the birthday of Jesus! Happy Birthday Jesus!

Why "happy birthday" and not Merry Christmas, some friends ask. Let us all remember that it is indeed the birthday of Jesus Christ that we are celebrating this season.  I know some little children think that Christmas is about those lovely Christmas trees, the abundant food and the new toys and clothes they will get as gifts. Maybe, we the adults, were not able to explain to them the real essence of Christmas. Let us bring back the focus of the celebration to Jesus Christ and not our own merriment. 

To Christians, everyday...most especially today....JESUS...you are the Star! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

FS 3 - Technology in the Learning Environment

Here's our groups' FS 3 output.

Repeated Reading

One of our reports in our Developmental Reading course is about Repeated Reading. Repeated Reading is a learning technique to develop students' fluency in reading.

View slideshow below to learn more.

Sunday Musings

Sundays are supposed to be "family days". So here I am watching my daughter Naya practice with her classmates their field demonstration for next week. My husband is with our Baby Oyen at Bacolod Capitol Lagoon having their "Boys' Day Out". Later, after Naya's practice, I hope the kids would not be too tired yet so that we can have our whole family bonding at the mall.

I was hoping I could have my day-off today. It's difficult to juggle mummy duties, online job, business to attend to, and school. Sleep hours are limited to 3 to 5 hours a day. Last week was definitely a zombie week. I think, if I'll have a blood chemistry test today, caffeine would be about 40% of my blood component. Buhuhuhu...

But then, I should stop complaining. I SHOULD NOT complain because all these are results of my choices. I chose to accept this online job (which surprisingly I am enjoying every bit of it). I chose to enroll in the Teacher Certificate program this semester (and thank God, the semester is about to end). And definitely, I chose to be a mum. 

Although I work, I can afford to stay at home most of the time because of the nature of my job. But if you are a mum and you work at home, mummy duties always compete with work time. And with deadlines to beat (and work reputation to protect), I either sacrifice time with kids or time for sleep. I chose the latter. 

Now, don't ask me again if that's smudged eyeliner under my eyes. 

That's why, I chose not to have a day-off today. My daughter needs me today. And so, while she is practicing her dance, I am busy writing this post. And of course, working on our "Learning Object" project on family planning. 

Talk about multi-tasking.

HAVE A BLESSED SUNDAY EVERYONE!

Children's Gameshow

Here's a gameshow designed for Kindergarten Students. It's a simple alphabet-phonics game. I made this gameshow for my daughter Naya and as a project in our Educ Tech subject. This is supposed to be animated but I haven't found a way yet on how to upload to blogger a powerpoint slideshow with the animations and transitions intact.

P.S.  Hey, I did find a way how to retain the links and animations. I used authorstream. It worked great! Watch and play my gameshow below.

Naya’s Game

More PowerPoint presentations from Rebbe julie

NAYA AND ME SERIES: Don't Want To Go To School

Naya's cousins are with us these past few days. She is very, very happy since she now has a playmate at home. However, since she now goes to school everyday, she has to wake up early and has to wait until end of classes before she can play with her cousin, Ahyan.

ME: Naya, get up. You need to take a bath now.

NAYA: Nanay, why take a bath? Go to school or stay in Lola's house?

ME: Naya, you need to take a bath because you are going to school. Get up now or you would be late.

NAYA:   Ahaaay...Nanay, pwede lang (if possible), absent lang ko today (I'd just be absent today). Play Ahyan and me.

ME: (is having an "Aw, shucks!" moment). Naya, you need to go to school today. Don't worry, you can be absent TOMORROW. 

NAYA: Okay Nanay. Thank you. Yehey! I can play with Ahyan tomorrow. Absent ko ya no?

Hehehe...Tomorrow happens to be a Saturday. Bad Nanay - for fooling my Little Naya. 

Kids are kids. They always want to play. But kids need to go to school too. They need to know when is the time for school and the time to play. 

A Music Video as an Educational Tool?

Filipinos are said to be natural born singers and music lovers. This is not too hard to believe considering the many videoke bars that sprouted in almost every corner of our neighborhood. Consider also that a number of households own Magic Sing units. It's precursor, the Karaoke machine, was also popular. But ever since videoke existed, it easily replaced the former. Videoke not only provides the music but also visuals that will entice the wannabe singers to sing to maximum performance level.

The ASSURE Model of Teaching

What is the ASSURE Model?

The ASSURE Model is and Instructional System Design (ISD) that has been modified to suit the needs of the teachers in side the classroom. It is a procedural guide for planning and delivering instruction that incorporates media. It assumes that training or instruction really is required and is meant for use by the individual instructor for planning everyday classroom use of media. Simply put, the ASSURE Model works like a systematic way of writing a lesson plan incorporating the use of media in instructional design.  To know more about this type, click on the slideshow below:

NAYA AND ME Series

My 5-year old daughter says the some of the funniest things I ever heard. I started posting it on my Facebook wall a few months ago. Some of my friends told me that they are following my Naya and Me series because they find it funny and entertaining and so, I decided to make this a category in my blog. 

Naya's thoughts on ways and things remind me of the TV show in the 90's called "Kids Say the Darndest Things" which was hosted by Bill Cosby. Kids really do have their own way of viewing situations and things. Some are outright funny, some seems so mature you'd be amazed how kids could think of those thoughts. 

I'll try to retrieve some of those posts from my Facebook wall and transfer it here. I hope you'd enjoy reading it too. For starters, here's our latest conversation:

EATING A PLANET

The Buzz About Sun Shorts: Filipino Indie Films Tackle Importance of Preparing for the Future

Piolo Pascual, Filipino actor, endorses Sun Life's "Sun Shorts".
Image courtesy of www.sunlife.com.ph

Indie films are quite the "in" thing nowadays. Every year, Cinemalaya organizes a film festival dedicated to showcasing the works of art of independent film producers. The film festival produced some of the best films in the local cinema, and also some of the best actors and actresses of this generation (talk about Coco Martin. Yammmi!). 


This year, one of the biggest insurance and financial institution of this country, tries it's hand in producing short, independent films with themes about love, hope and the importance of preparing for the future. Sun Life Financials will launch "Sun Shorts" - a collection of five short films directed by selected top directors of the country. Each film will mirror the director's interpretation of how life could be brighter under the Sun. 

For A Very Special Boy

Baby Oyen at 1-year old

I first posted this on my Facebook wall. It's about my feelings and thoughts about my special boy, Baby Oyen. He is autistic, and at age four, could not yet verbally communicate with us. It is sometimes frustrating not to know what's going on in Baby Oyen's mind. 

Somebody suggested that I turn my Facebook post into a poem. But since I'm not a literary writer, I'm sticking with the original format. My attempts in poetry always ends up in total failure. Anyways, in whatever form it maybe - poetry or prose - the message is still the same. I made some changes, a little editing here and there. So here it is. I am hoping someday, when my Baby Oyen will be allowed by the Lord to progress and learn how to read, he will discover this so that he would know how much I love him.

IF I AM THE RICHEST PERSON IN THE WORLD

If I am the richest person in the world, how would I spend my wealth?

This Used to Be Our Childhood

My daughter Naya, at 5-years old, is a pro in using the laptop. She knows how to turn it on and shut it down; she knows where to locate the folder for her favorite videos; she knows how to search the internet for Barbie, Dora, and Blue's Clues games. I am really amazed with her and the other kids of her generation. Some kids her age now knows how to play Dota! But, honestly speaking, I am not happy with my daughter spending so much time playing with the laptop. It's difficult to totally not allow her to use it since she sees her Tatay and I use it too.

Why the Need for Personal Financial Planning

Everyone of us do certain amounts of planning. We plan our weekly menu, we plan our vacation. Even our career path. In the same vein, we should also plan our personal finances. 

What is Personal Financial Planning? Personal financial planning seems like a big term. Simply put, it is the process on how you (if you are still single) or your family make decisions on how to obtain income, budget your money to fund certain needs (like food, clothing, education of the kids, etc.) and set aside savings. Personal financial planning also considers how you accumulate your wealth, how you spend it over time, and what steps you take to preserve it. 

The Breakfast Alternative: High-fiber Danish Pancake Balls

My Danish Pancake Balls. Yummy!

My kids are picky-eaters and planning their daily menu is really a challenge. Their usual breakfast is just a bowl of rice cereals or rice with egg, hotdog or chicken nuggets. Of course, this is far from what a complete meal is. 


My 4-year old boy, who is a special child, would only eat food that produces crackling sounds. He also got food allergies and so his diet is very limited. And just like most kids, he doesn't like vegetables too. I have always looked for ways on how to incorporate vegetables and fruits into their diet. It's a hit or miss process. One of the recipes I made that both my kids like is my "High-fiber Danish Pancake Balls". My baby boy is also fascinated with round things, so these little spherical delights are just perfect to raise his interest. 

Banana-Walnut Cupcake: A Perfect Coffee Partner

Banana Walnut Cupcake.
Perfect with Coffee

It's the month of June and it's the start of the rainy season here in the Philippines. It's been raining a couple of days, my afternoons seems kind of unproductive lately. I can't go out of the house because of the heavy rains. 


My daughter has been nagging me to bake some cupcakes. She's been hooked on this online baking game lately and she really wants to try baking for real. I've had a lot of free time one rainy afternoon, we (my daughter and I) decided to make some cupcakes.

Income Opportunities for Stay-at-Home Moms

Flavored Chocolates Mini-boxes for Valentines

Let's face it. Most stay-at-home moms wish that they are earning too. I myself, don't want to be a burden to my spouse. I want to have my own money so I can buy my personal stuff like my kikay kits, make-up, clothes and shoes (I so loooooove shoes!). And pay for my weekly pedicure with my own money. After all,  when we are done with our mommy duties, we have enough time to watch afternoon telenovelas. We might as well put it to good use. 

So what income-generating options are there for us?

How It is To Be a Stay-at-Home Mom

In 2010, I left a stable career in government service to become a full-time mom. 

Yes, that's right. Friends and colleagues told me I was out of my mind when I made that decision. I had been a career woman for 10 years and I left it all to take care of my kids. And my aging parents. 


Some people told me, "sayang naman pinag-aralan mo kung magiging plain housewife ka lang" (you'd be wasting your educational degree if you'd just settle to be a plain housewife). I guess, only a mother could understand why I did it. Come to think of it; if we see kids misbehaving, we usually question the kind of discipline or upbringing their parents (especially the mother) do to these kids. But if women decide to forego a career to take care of the family, people will still have something to say. 

I am Woman....

Women play different roles. It is rather expected from us. We are created to be caring, nurturing, and resilient so that we can fulfill all these roles. 


This blog is about how it is being a woman playing different roles. I'd be sharing my interests, my hobbies, and maybe some point of views on different issues that affects busy women like us. 


So who would I be today? 


I am a mother...a wife...a daughter...a friend...a student...a career woman...
I am EVERY WOMAN.