Do Not Disturb

No, we did not put that pillow over her eyes. She did it herself.

Yes, she really does sleep like this. This was not staged.

No, she normally does not sleep holding a bottle of milk. She must have been very tired that night though, so she fell asleep like a sentinel holding her weapon.  A vicious, scary.. bottle of milk.

Yes, she does want her stuffed toys around her, esp. the Barney dolls and the colorful Care Bear, as well as the violet elephant.

Note the judicious sprinkling of purple toys around her.  I think she gets it from me!

For some reason that we cannot fathom, she wants to cover her head with her pink pillow before she can sleep.  For nap-times this ritual can be skipped.  Night-time beddie-byes are another matter.

Apparently she wants complete darkness when she is about to fall asleep at night.  Even though all the lights are turned off already, she still persists in this habit.

The pillow is light enough so it cannot smother her.  She also does not cover her nose, just the eye portion. 

Sleep masks, here she comes!

Serenity and Contentment

It's a beautiful Saturday! The sky may be overcast and the day may be a bit damp with drizzles here and there, but for me, it might just as well be drenched in sunshine, with cheerful bird-song and warm soothing breezes all around.

I am in quite a buoyant mood -- and it's not even lunch time yet!

No, the daily cares did not suddenly vanish magically, nor did a fairy godmother unexpectedly appear to wave all our worries away.  It was the realization that these things would not be solved by the extent to which I frowned and ranted and moped all day. 

Solutions will be found, and new joys and sorrows will surely come, but I could in fact choose to live in the moment and be happy. 

Happiness is a choice.  It is a state of mind.

Early this morning I had a walk with my two daughters, just meandering around the residential area we live in, peering at a neighbor's pet dog (my younger one likes to 'visit' the dog and say Hi), marveling at the butterflies that darted amidst the flowers, watching a caterpillar make its way slowly across the ground.

We then swept the fallen leaves from the driveway and gathered them into a pile, after which the two little girls jumped around and over and on it to their hearts' delight. 

Then came a round of deciphering secret codes -- our older daughter is currently in an "I-want-to-be-a-secret-agent-someday" mode.  She went and got a book about secet codes from their school book fair, and she lassoed me into hunkering down and solving the codes with her.  It was surprisingly interesting -- it's my inner geek peering out again!

Simple pleasures, simple joys.

When I accidentally erased the draft of this post and had to do it over, I had a brief flash of irritation.  But only for a moment.  Then I went ahead and rewrote it -- I have to say that I find this version better.

I find that the Serenity Prayer sums up my feelings quite well.  This oft-quoted prayer, commonly believed to have been written by the American theologian Karl Paul Reinhold Niebuhr, has been widely adopted by twelve-step programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous.  Its appeal stems perhaps because of its plea for help while acknowledging one's all-too-human limitations.

There are a number of versions of this prayer, and it os commonly only the first part that is widely cited, but I like this one best:

God, grant us the

Serenity to accept the things we cannot change,

Courage to change the things we can, and the

Wisdom to know the difference.

Patience for the things that take time,

Appreciation for all that we have, and

Tolerance for those with different struggles.

Freedom to live beyond the limitations of our past ways, the

Ability to feel your love for us and our love for each other and the

Strength to get up and try again even when we feel it is hopeless.

Happiness is a choice.  It may not be easy to come by, but with some Wisdom from Above, it's well within our grasp.

Buon Giorno!

The great thing about being on vacation and not having a set schedule is that deliciously heady feeling of freedom to go where your fancy takes you. 

Yesterday we tried our luck and decided to have lunch at Buon Giorno Caffe & Bistro at the Cliff House in Tagaytay.  So we hopped in the car and drove for 1 1/2 hours.  If we had done this on a normal work-day, chances are we would have been easily stressed out and tired.  But as we are on leave from work this week, we had a relaxing drive going there and back again, just taking in the sights at a leisurely pace.

When we arrived there it was just a few minutes shy of 1:00 pm.  It was a bright, welcoming day, with the sun shining merrily down on us without it being scorchingly hot.  Our little girl immediately went to the railings and looked down at the lovely vista of Taal Lake spread out below us.

She then skipped over to the tiny Koi pool and spent a few minutes gazing at the multi-colored fish darting amidst the rocks and the shade.  She even waved her hand above the fish while I teased her that they would latch on to her fingers!

The Cliff House has an assortment of restaurants for the diner who wishes to eat with a view.  Buon Giorno ("Good Day" in Italian) has one of the more enviable spots in that it has a direct view overlooking the lake.

The white benches at the patio looked very inviting, so the little angel plopped down in the middle bench and gazed quietly at the lake.  For a few minutes at least.  Then she had the urge to lie down on the bench!

After some coaxing for her to settle down from her flitting about, we sat down to have lunch -- and what a visually pleasing and hearty meal it turned out to be!

This was my place setting at the table.  I liked their placemats and coasters, rustic and functional at the same time.

We were given some complimentary focaccia bread, which we dipped in olive oil, balsamic vinegar and even some parmesan cheese!  I couldn't help it, I just love cheese! The bread was served warm in its basket, and gave off a freshly baked aroma that made us just want to dig into its fragrant warmth.

For this dip, I was actually trying my hand in making a Taijitu symbol, more commonly known as the Yin-Yang. However, you can see my lack of success at it.  The dip still tasted good though, and complemented the bread beautifully.  

To quench our thirst, we ordered iced tea and a banana-pineapple smoothie.  Too bad they didn't have the green iced tea available! The servings were quite generous, a refreshing change from those puny little glasses that are served in some resturants.

This New York Pizza did not fail to please.  With a crunchy but chewy, not-so-thin crust, the toppings were very flavorful.  I like my pizzas oozing with cheese (yes, I'm a cheese lover and proud of it!), and this pizza was precisely that. The veggie toppings were crunchy and sweet, the peppers and onion having none of that raw taste that some people dislike. I was at first apprehensive of the olives, as I find the taste a wee bit overwhelming at times.  This pizza had just a hint of that, which served to accentuate the flavors even more. Need I say more that I just loved this pizza?

We also had the Roasted Rack of Lamb with Red Wine Sauce. The accompanying mashed potatoes were creamy and tasty, the vegetable siding still fresh and crunchy.  The mint jelly went well with the lamb, but the hubby and the little one did not really appreciate the combo.  The red wine sauce was much more to our collective taste.  The lamb was tender and succulent, with none of the stringy chewiness that is present in beef and lamb dishes I've tried in the past. Thumbs up for this one as well!

We thought that the little one would be a bit more adventurous, but she went with her comfort food, the ubiquitous fries!  Good thing she tried out the other dishes as well -- she liked the lamb, to our surprise.  Then she alternated between the iced tea and the banana-pineapple smoothie, slurping away to her gleeful little child's delight.

When we arrived the place was abuzz with people enjoying their meals-with-a-view.  As we were finishing up our own meals (some of which we eventually had to have packed and brought home), we noticed that we were one of the last ones left.  I took the opportunity to take this photo of the outside dining area, complete with little birdhouses and skeletons in preparation for the Halloween.

By this time the fog had started to set in, and the clear view of the lake that we had earlier had already been obscured by the translucent milkiness.  The cool air became even more so, and the patio lost that sharp-around-the-edges look we had seen upon our arrival.

We left Buon Giorno with bellies full and with smiles on our faces. It was indeed a Good Day.