A Special Day

Yesterday was my son’s birthday and as usual he did not want to have a party. He just went out with few friends to eat at their favorite restaurant and then he went shopping.  He always gets a certain amount of money on his birthday and then he buys whatever he wants. Yesterday was special for him because he had bought his first laptop out of the money he saved from Christmas, weekly allowances and the birthday money he got yesterday. He had been looking forward for the day to come. Finally, he achieved his goal!

It was early last year and he really wanted to own a laptop, and he knew his dad won’t buy it for him. As my husband would say “you don’t need a laptop, we already have a PC at home”. My son thought, having a laptop would be a big help for him as a college student.

One day he told me he will start saving his money, no more eating out, going to the movies and taxi rides until he reaches his goal. As a mom I gave him moral support and encouragement and at the same time told him not to go overboard, “enjoy life a little bit too” I said. Sometimes he came home very hungry because he didn’t eat lunch; he did not want to spend money for food if he could. He had some ups and downs too, when his cell phone broke and he needed to buy a new one and when there was a school activity that he needed to join and had to spend some money and so on. He never got discouraged, just modified his plan a bit then continued saving. We always talk about the day when he finally would go to the computer store to buy the laptop; then bring it home; show his dad what he got and seeing the reaction on his dad’s face while looking at the laptop flabbergasted.

As a mom, it’s a joy to see the transformation of your once young child slowly growing into a mature individual. He developed self-discipline and patience and learned frugality from this new experience and discovered that there’s a reward at the end of the tunnel. I used to worry about his ability to save money because before, as soon as he received his birthday or Christmas money, the next day he would want to spend it right away. Now I can rest assured that he will be okay with his finances especially when he will be on his own. For me as a mom I enjoyed watching him evolve into a fine young man. I should be taking my bow, for I know I raised him well. 

Happy birthday son!

Be Careful What You Wish For

Summer is now upon us. We have to go through scorching hot and humid days again. How do we survive a sticky summer? Installing an air-conditioner in your home is a quick solution. Although many people would want to have an air-conditioned home, paying high electric bill every month is not an option. On the other hand, others think it is a necessary luxury.

As my husband would say “we have electric fans”, every time I mention air-conditioner. So if you can’t have cool air in your home, don’t fret because I have some frugal solutions for you. Take a cold shower several times a day, drink lots of cold water and keep wishing that it will rain. Rain here in the tropics, especially at night, is very refreshing and helps to cool the air a lot. For three days I was wishing for rain at night, not just any rain but a heavy rain. The sound of raindrops against the roof and the fresh cool air it would bring would be nice, I thought.

Last night my wish came true, there was a heavy rain all over town. Rain was pouring down hard continuously for hours which resulted to flooding in many areas. Our neighborhood was among the ones that got hit the hardest. We live in a low lying area and below sea level so it’s not unusual for our neighborhood to have floods occasionally. The floods are usually just in the streets and do not get inside our yard.

Last night was a bit different; even though the rain had already stopped we could still hear the sound of rushing water coming from the street then into our yard. The flood just kept rising every minute. My husband was monitoring the progress of the flood throughout the night and saw that some of the houses that were on lower ground had already been flooded. He knew that we would be next. Then he hurriedly woke me and my son up. We needed to move our furniture and appliances to a higher area of the house or they would have been damaged by floodwater. So in the middle of the night, my husband, son and I moved all our things including: the heavy fridge, entertainment center, etc. to the second level of our house. It was a lot of work but we thought we did the right thing and we were able to sleep soundly for the rest of the night.

In the morning, after we finished cleaning up the mess, we moved our things back to where they belong. It was a lot of work with lots of heavy lifting, but we saved our stuff from being damaged. We were exhausted but also realized that we learned how to react positively in a calamity.     

So what do you think is the moral lesson of the story? Stay calm when there is a calamity, be content with what you have or be careful what you wish for?

  

Marinades Made Easy

Cooking has been a constant struggle for me since I got married several years ago. My husband is a vegetarian and always want a good home cooked meal for dinner. We eat out once in a while but we only go to a restaurant that had already passed the taste test of his fastidious palate. Also food delivery and ready to eat meals are not popular in our household.Then my son came along who is a finicky eater also. Being a non-vegetarian and had no prior knowledge about vegetarian diet, cooking  meals everyday became overwhelming especially when deciding what to cook for dinner. 


Throughout the years I have collected vegetarian recipes that made my life easier, and among my collections are the marinade recipes. Marinades are great to incorporate in a vegetarian cooking because they give a variety of flavors to a bland tofu, gluten or seitan. Once you had marinated the tofu, gluten or seitan for 30 minutes to 1 hour, you can now bake, fry, barbecue or grill them. Then you will have a tasty meat substitute that you can add to a vegetable stir fry or a vegetable salad. I also marinate vegetables, such as broccoli, mushrooms, cauliflower, carrots and so on. Then I steamed them for a quick vegetable side dish or bake them with sprinkled grated cheese. When I cook  vegetables with cheese, my son would eat them without a fuss. So I'm glad somebody invented the cheese!

 For meat eaters, marinades are good meat tenderizers and flavor enhancers. Making your own marinade is cheaper, healthier and tastier than buying a commercial one. Yogurt, buttermilk , vinegar, lemon, oil and spices are the basic ingredients in a marinade. Before soaking the meat, piercing them with a fork in several places will help absorb more flavors. The longer you marinate, the stronger the flavor, but over soaking your meat in acid can turn the meat in to a tough and mushy texture. If you are not following a very specific recipe/technique, then you can use these time guidelines on how long to marinate your meat; for denser meats such as pork and beef marinate for 24 hours or longer. A lighter meat like chicken can marinate between 2 hours and 24 hours. For seafood 30 to 60 minutes of marinating is good enough. 

Simple tips:

•       Marinate meat in a nonreactive container such as a glass dish or a resealable plastic bag so that you can turn them over easily and for easy clean up. 
•       When marinating always place the container in refrigerator immediately to avoid the growth of bacteria.
•         Drain and pat dry marinated meat before cooking. If you don’t, it will steam instead of sear and brown.
•        If you want to baste the meat with the marinade while it’s cooking, make extra marinade just for basting purposes.
•         Discard the leftover marinade. 

You can try these 2 marinade recipes I got from Family Circle magazine.

Yogurt-flavored marinade

I cup plain yogurt

2 minced scallions

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp ground cumin

3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Salt, cayenne and pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients. Best marinade for chicken.

Wine flavored marinade

½ cup dry red wine

1 small chopped onion

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried thyme

1 clove minced garlic

Salt and pepper to taste

 Combine all the ingredients, best for steak.  

Happy cooking!

Oily Skin

Today's curse; tomorrow's blessing!

When my son turned 13, I started noticing a series of physical changes. One of them was his young, smooth and healthy looking skin slowly turning oily. As time passed the oiliness was getting worse and acne started to emerge. My first reaction was a panicked, “oh no, not my son!” I was hoping, as my son grows up, that he will not become the next victim of this genetic curse. That he will grow up enjoying a healthy looking skin.

Oily skin is in my genes, everyone in my family had it. Oily skin compounded with acne problems to boot. I had been battling oily skin and acne since my teenage years and even in my adult life. I still have some of the ugly acne scars as proof. 

So the next available day I had, I went straight to the pharmacy checking every product available for treating acne. There are a lot to choose from and it was confusing what to buy. Some of them were familiar, I had tried them on my acne before and they didn’t work, but I was hoping something would work on my son’s skin.  So I bought the most expensive brand of acne facial cleanser and an acne gel that is supposed to help heal and dry acne. Over-the-counter acne treatments are generally mild and contain: benzoyl peroxide, sulfur, resorcinol, salicylic acid or lactic acid as their active ingredient. Although they help clear acne, their results are not long-term. My son’s skin eventually developed bacterial resistance to the treatment and it was not as effective as it used to. Along the way, I switched brands of acne products and rotated their usage. This routine became frustrating and costly and eventually my son got tired of using them.

Another option was to see a dermatologist, but I’ve been there and done that also. The dermatologist will prescribe oral antibiotics and a topical gel.  The medication works wonders but only temporarily. Once you stop taking the antibiotics, your acne will soon return with a vengeance. Another thing to watch out for are the side effects of the antibiotics that you have to deal with.

When kids reach puberty, certain hormones are activated. This hormonal surge can stimulate the sebaceous glands, resulting in more sebum and hence, oily skin. When you have oily skin, you are prone to acne as well. Unfortunately, there is no magic cure for oily skin. Teenagers will have to learn how to live with oily skin for the time being. I know how frustrating it can be to have a whole new set of problems in your already complicated teen life.

The best you can do is to always keep your skin clean. When washing your face, try using a mild soap and follow it up with an astringent for oily skin. Use warm water in the rinsing of your face. Warm water is a better solvent than cold water and this helps in removing the grime from your skin.

On the upside; according to The Doctors Book of Home Remedies, a person who has an oily skin tends to age better and wrinkle less than a person who has a dry or normal skin.Yay!!! =)

Remedies for Tension Headache

Life of a mom could oftentimes get hectic and overwhelming. Everyday, we are so absorbed with taking care of our family’s needs that we often neglect to find time to unwind and relax. Stressful everyday life is one of the common causes of tension headache. As moms we cannot afford to be sick. Usually our first impulse when we start feeling a headache is to go to the medicine cabinet and reach for that quick fix. To avoid over using pain medication, we should  try these simple remedies first.

Take a shower.  Taking a hot shower may relax you and ease the tension in your head and neck. It will soothe the muscles and relax them that will help relieve your headache. Some people prefer the feeling of cold against their foreheads and necks and for them it seems to help.

Take a nap.  Take a power nap, even a 15 to 20 minute good nap will make you feel a lot better.  It will refresh your system and clear your head. Avoid oversleeping because you're more likely to wake up with a headache. Don't sleep in an awkward position, it can cause the muscles in your neck to contract which could trigger a headache. The best sleeping position is on your back.

Exercise.  A brisk walk for 30 minutes every day will help relax your muscles. It will also help you sleep better at night. Walking is very relaxing and a good stress reliever.

Drink some water. Mild dehydration is common cause of many headaches.

Take vitamins. When you’re under a lot of stress, your system runs out of nutrients, such as vitamin B and magnesium. Replenish what you’re missing, and your system will be less likely to stay out of whack.

  Avoid skipping or delaying meals. A missed meal can cause muscle tension and when blood sugar drops from lack of food, the blood vessels of the brain tighten. When you eat again, they expand leading to headache.

 Avoid certain foods. Take notes of the foods you eat, headaches could be caused by the foods you eat such as aged cheese, chocolate, monosodium glutamate (MSG), nuts, yeast and alcohol can cause mild allergic reactions that results in headaches. Experiment through elimination to see whether any of these could be causing your problem.

Try an acupressure technique. With your thumb, press the point on the back of your other hand where the base of your thumb and your index finger meet. Apply pressure for about two minutes. This helps trigger the release of endorphins, the brain’s feel-good hormones. Squeezing under the bony ridges at the back of the neck also can help.