Boodle fight OFW style in Jeddah. No meat just fish and vegetables 🙂
This picture was taken before the boodle fight 🙂
and what is left after the boodle fight?
and this after 🙂 see my bulging tummy hahaha beautybeyondfifty is enjoying life to the max!
Ladies ,make your life easy..enjoy the simple things in life 🙂
Cheers,
jamilamimi
Lopezena Fernando De Castro – age 65 years old.
Long name 🙂 we fondly call her “Nanay Aurea” , a mother of four and one of her daughter is my friend. The first time I met her was three months ago.., time passes by quickly and on Tuesday she will be going back to Philippines.
Me: Nanay Aurea How do you like your stay in Jeddah?
Nanay Aurea: (masaya naman pero nakakalungkot din, lahat sila nasa trabaho at school, nasanay akong kasama palagi ang aking asawa. Napakahirap mag -isa). happy but sad at the same time. It is hard to be alone.
Nanay Aurea husband had passed away recently (less than a year).
(Hindi ko akalain naganito pala rito sa Jeddah, maganda at tahimik naman)I didn’t expect Jeddah is a nice and quiet City.
She told me, she is worried about her daughter condition in Saudi Arabia but now she have seen Jeddah, her mind will be at peace for a while.
Nanay Aurea is a retired teacher and a dancer. She loves to teach her students and pushed them hard to attained perfection in their dancing stint. She has a charming smile and boast that if it wasn’t for her beauty and charm, her daughter will not look beautiful.
Kung ano ang puno iyun din ang bunga! 🙂 Trees bear the same fruit hahaha is this the right translation? I guess so! A coconut tree won’t bear a mango fruit! 🙂 right?
That goes to my mom too! Like mother like daughter, though I also would like to look like my handsome papa 🙂
Nanay Aurea is a well travelled lady too. She said ” Kahit pala walang pera may nararating din” Though I don’t have money I was able to travel. She has been to Europe and now Middle East, hopefully she can also go to USA ! One of her daughter is in Germany and she also has relatives in USA.
That I may quote..”Kung anu ang tinanim siya rin ang bunga” in short, Good deeds begets good deeds 🙂
I asked her, what advice she can give to us?
Save for the future, oh Nanay Aurea, you’re my idol, you can travel anywhere without spending any centavo, so why should I save? hahahaha joke!
Certainly! For young people , SAVE is the key word, no matter how great your situation at the moment, no matter how healthy you are, we will never know what the future will bring. If you save a little while enjoying the moment, when the hard times comes, you won’t be begging for others’help.
Nanay Aurea, thank you for the moment, though it was a short visit it was worth every penny 🙂 worth every moment,I miss my parents, your short visit filled up the missing puzzle in our life as an overseas worker.
Thank you Nanay Aurea and Happy trip!
Cheers,
Jamilamimi
Challenging..blessed..grateful.. were the words to described the Serenata journey to 10th year according to Ms. Charo Hipos the chairperson and executive producer of Opus 10.
SERENATA is a non- stock,non-profit, cause oriented organisation in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia founded in 2005 through the pioneering efforts of Ms. Sylvia de los Santos, Ms. Desil Manapat and Mr. Louis Bautista. Serenata hold annual benefit concert and to date, they have produced 29 scholars and 7 college graduates.
I have attended seven of their concerts and I was so eager to attend the eight concert but it didn’t coincide with my tight schedule and I was not lucky to find a ticket on the ninth and so when Ms. Lolit Cua invited me, I was jumping with joy (literally 🙂 ) and immediately blocked my schedule , for once, let me attend please!
https://jamilamimi.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/serenata-shines-at-seven/
And to echo the words of Ms. Charo, my attendance was also “Challenging” I have to make sure my patient’s schedule were all specially booked well in advance though dental treatment will always be challenging to finished on time 🙂 nevertheless, I did it! Unfortunately another mishap happened, my bank card was retained at the ATM machine and to talk to customer service was a menace at times (rolling my eyes..at all time!..this is KSA) Anyhow, I went home and hurriedly changed my clothes ,took a taxi and alas! I reached the alma mater of my chef Kevin, AISJ (American International School of Jeddah, hosted the event for the eight times).As I was waiting for my change, the blue guard came and reprimanded the taxi driver not to park (taxi cab was on the side before the gate entrance) , waving his hand on me to get into the car and let the taxi move OMG! don’t bark! only dogs do that!
Anyhow, after checking my ID and ticket, the receptions was like attending the Oscars! ,not that I attended it 🙂 but I like the photo shoot, the little poses hahaha. I was ushered to a special seat and I felt so “blessed” that actually I am in the “Opus 10″ concert. I will always be” grateful” to Ms. Lolit for the invitation. 🙂
Yes! SERENATA..I have only one word to describe the concert..SPECTACULAR!
And last but not the least, the special participation of Ms. Precy Ann Cua was stunning! not to mention she had undergone Oral Surgery twice before the concert 🙂 This soft-spoken lady holds a BS degree in Music (major in voice,minor in piano) at St. Scholastica’s College in Manila, Philippines. Bravo! (hats off)
And while I was enjoying the show, suddenly I can’t remember If I unplug my flat iron 😦 I was in a hurry so I was not sure and later it became so obvious that I didn’t..OMG! concert or fire? yeah you’re right, I’m on fire so I left the concert without seeing the String Orchestra. Grrrrr.
Beautybeyondfifty was so frustrated. ahh blame it to the age! hahaha
To the members and participants, parents, siblings, committees ,sponsors and guest a big THANK YOU and Congratulations!
Cheers!
Jamilamimi
how do I begin? the story of my rant..oh yeah, just give me this day! I usually forbids myself not to rant in writing but today is the day I like to ..
the moment I reached home today from walking 2 miles, not to mentioned carrying two heavy bags (lap top and personal ),I hurriedly open my notes and started writing what’s in my mind..before I blew myself up (of course! I’m exaggerating). Anyhow, this week at work was not different from last week, we were so busy, my appointments were fully booked. Am I complaining? of course not, no matter how difficult the task, no matter how difficult the case maybe or how difficult to manage the patient or the staff, I always reached the optimum result and I find satisfaction at the end. Nevertheless, I am not a super woman, yes I am passionate about my work, Dentistry in particular but being the Manager as well, at times it just hit me, what am I doing to myself?
Am I getting old? I know, Age has nothing to do with it! really? what about the aching body, heels pain, back pain, fingers numbing? named it, count it..and you can include your toes too! arms in limbo and eyes rolling 😉
And so, I came home late from hard days work, about to take a nap when I received a call that I have to go back to work and I did! after a while he asked me to do some task (not dentistry but secretarial stuff) I really don’t mind, I was working for him 27 years and he had help me a lot so I am just returning the favour. Enter another consultant (dummy owner) been bugging me to call technical support for company’s tax payment, I complied but hey! I took Dentistry not to meddle with mathematics (huh! that’s my Waterloo). Anyhow, alright cool down, I still have two college students, (I need my job.. got to do it)! I have patient’s in between, I haven’t had a break yet and paper works on the side? So I asked my staff to help me out, deadline Saturday!
Smile and the world will smile at you!
And finally, work done! started walking and I just realised I forgot my wallet (or no money to say the least) exaggerating again? nope! I only have ten riyals in my pocket and no taxi driver wanted to accept it.. what? they claimed ten riyals is not worth waiting in the traffic jam.Lucky me!
Some drivers were too polite to stop when they think I will cross the street but others were just so rude (honking) and impatient (rushing as if no pedestrian on the street ). Alright calm down (talking to myself), walking is good for the heart, oh yeah try it! wearing abaya (a black long dress required for ladies when in public) oh! well, the lap top bag looks like I am doing weight lifting (dumbbells hello).
It was a long wait before I was able to cross the main road, while waiting, I noticed I was the only lady walking with two heavy hand bags on my hand. Two old men wearing nice suits, on my right and two middle-aged men wearing old shirt and jeans on my left and in front of me, was a young man in his thirties (maybe).
my thoughts..
hurray for this men, working hard for their families..
middle-aged woman walking alone..
age 55..working hard..
old woman family provider from day one..
mom be careful when you cross the street..you still have two sons waiting for you..
woman you’re not the only one.. a lot of OFW are working hard for their family..
a lot of irresponsible men out there..
selfish men..
to err is human or to err is woman..
huh! hmm.. (lip biting)
you’re not alone!
life goes on.. waiting for my day and I know sooner or later it will come..
So, thank you for giving me this day!
jamilamimi
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Beautybeyond fifty was in reminiscing stage the moment she had the glimpsed of all the teens well dressed for the afternoon Junior and Senior Promenade. Wow! Where were you? Time flies! We can only look a million times on those old remaining photos but we will never be the same physically with all the bumps sideways and bulging tummy 🙂 but hey! it doesn’t matter, we’re all gorgeous no matter what! (are you kidding me?) Nope! Ladies, we are all beautiful in our own way, perhaps not as much as when we were young but it all comes down to.. the feeling with in you! Yes! feel beautiful and YOU are beautiful!
hmmm, not bad for beauties beyond fifty 🙂 let’s move on..
This is one of the most awaited event in High school life, the most splendid or I may say ..the most expensive? As the guest of Honour pointed out..we could choose to let go of the tradition and add the savings to college money or perhaps toned down the frills and extravagance..then what? Well, don’t ask me! 🙂 Peace!
This is only one night..ONE of the four (seniors) three (juniors)years in High School.For those teens who have been in Saudi Arabia for years.. this one night event adds glitter to their restricted life, a little romance (wink) maybe ? the first dance? the first formal social event? whatever the reasons this is an event worth remembering! Just look at how happy they are..Priceless moments 🙂
As one of the guest judge of the night, I also wonder how they were able to pull off such amazing event in the most restricted situation. I am in great appreciation of the hard work that was put into this meaningful event. Congratulations!
Below are the slide show of my shots of the night..
Disclaimer: If there’s a photo of you, that you don’t wish to include in this blog, please email me with a link of the picture and I will be happy and promptly remove it.
Thank you for the experience 🙂
Cheers,
Jamilamimi
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Living in Jeddah for so many years, we got accustomed to not having our Christmas Eve like in Philippines. We tried to celebrate wherever and whenever we can. Last night was a blast! Our Santa is made directly from Lebanon 🙂
It’s nice being a kid ..sometimes 🙂
After all the photo shoot, I was so hungry and I forgot to take a photo of our dinner, but I manage to take my cheesecake for the Christmas 🙂
Our favourite dish from our very own Chef Kelly 🙂
Cute mat-mat, he was born in Jeddah, his first time to know Santa and got scared, however towards the end, he gave us awesome smile!
Our special guest, Nanay (mother of my Bff ), welcome to Jeddah!!
Thank you Santa Nabil, It was nice of you to make our Christmas this year a memorable one!
Cheers,
Jamilamimi
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I haven’t posted my Dubai trip last week yet, yes! I was out of Jeddah, KSA again..hurray! It is always a treat to be out of this shell, Oh how I wish it will be forever!
Anyhow, my friends and I were planing a weekend trip for a long time now, so even though I just came back from Dubai and needed a rest, I didn’t miss this happening! And I was right! This place is awesome as if we’re not in Saudi Arabia. And to be surrounded with friends is a bonus in itself!
We left Jeddah late at night and woke up early to catch the sunrise at the beach. I learned the coconut trees were taken from the Philippines, great!
The place is so serene, as if the place was reserve for us only. there was a couple of families fishing along the edge and a few women who are still wearing their abaya, strolling along the beach.
I was having headache all day and took medicine every 4 hrs., but still manage to enjoy the place and my friends company.
Thank you so much for the spectacular weekend! 🙂
Cheers,
Jamilamimi
We arrived Viga at 8:30 in the morning, we asked our family friend to find “kinis” (crab)for us, back then when we were young, the crabs were sold in a bag made of nipa palm leaves.Unfortunately, it was not available on that time of the day, so we decided to continue our road trip to Panganiban (payo) and Bagamanoc.
According to my research, when the 2nd world war broke out, Viga became the centre of Guerrilla movement in the province.The battle between the Guerrillas and escaping Japanese forces were simultaneously fought at Banquerohan bridge. (source: Catanduanes.gov.ph)
The abundance of swampy area and palms leads to mud crabs harvest but I didn’t see any one selling “Kinis” (crabs)!
We went around until we reached Bagamanoc, still “Kinis” (crab) is nowhere to be found, huh! not my day 😦 and yet so happy to be here, so refreshing!
For so many years, this our first time to travel to the north, It was fun to have this two bodyguards 🙂 psst… did I mentioned we are all beyond fifties? hehehe peace !
With “kinis” or no “Kinis” the scenery was just too much to take in…a real beauty of simplicity!
The famous ” Buto ni Kurakog” -a phallic – shaped land formation off the coast of Ilihan point. O la la! what’s behind this shape?
My apology to those who have virgin mind 🙂 Buto means “Penis” and Kurakog according to the legend is the name of the Giant who was madly in love with a local barrio lass who committed suicide because her parents disapproved her relationship to Kurakog. Kurakog got depressed and died eventually leaving his “penis” as a memory to the locals. Either your jaw dropped or you’re smiling aha! please read the rest of my road trip story, get some tea if you may or take a deep breath to recover hahaha , just kidding.
Well so much for the legend, let’s move back to the main road, what I noticed about Catanduanes, there are public schools at every district we passed by, it doesn’t matter if the population are small, I am so proud to conclude that ‘Education” is given a priority even into the remote area.
It was almost lunch time and we haven’t found “Kinis” yet, we went back to Viga and had lunch with our family friend. Thank you so much Manal itoy, I was starving and forgot to take a picture of “laing” (taro leaves with coconut milk).
Viga District hospital where it all started…my father popularly known as “Dr. Mariano” worked in this hospital,the reason why we became bicolanos 🙂 . Few meters away from this place, we had a farm, my father and my siblings planted rice, corn and peanuts…me? well, the only girl in the family, I played around, I helped in harvesting peanuts and sneaked out few fresh peanuts in my mouth, so crunchy and sweet 😉 I love the weekends, eating lunch under the coconut trees. Oh, those moments …it’s unforgettable!
From Viga, we went to Buenavista (Hitis) , at one point we got out of the car and savour the fresh air and marvel at the sight of the pacific ocean. A marvellous day for all of us!
From the top we saw the shoreline of Soboc beach.
and here it is… Soboc, Catanduanes…so simple and yet so beautiful!
On our way back , we passed by a small store to buy coca-cola, I knew there’s no cola in a can, so I was expecting it will be in a plastic bag with a plastic straw, wow! exciting authentic… but to my dismay, my brother handed me a disposable glass, huh! way to go Soboc! improving ;-
Going back to Virac, we passed by Cockpit (sabungan). I stayed inside the car, though I wanted to get pictures of the cock-fighting but I hesitated, It will be odd to see a woman inside the arena of men.
and so that’s the end of our road trip…oh wait. did I got KINIS? nope! nothing in Viga -Panganiban-Bagamanoc -Soboc .
not even here at the fish stall…
The following day, we went to Virac Plaza, there was demonstration or maybe a labor strike, I am not sure.
then.. at the bazaar where they showcase products of Catanduanes…
ah! there KINIS big ones…O lalala! only here at the plaza.. 🙂 😉 🙂
Ladies, I shall end here, hoping you enjoy my photos and happy that I found my “KINIS” lol!
Cheers,
Jamilamimi
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Trying a new concept in cheesecake baking is a difficult task for me, but I’ll keep on trying anyway 🙂 and so my next adventure is to give it a touch of Filipino taste. I like to do it as easy as possible so, I went to asian supermarket and tried shopping for an instant mix of Bibingka ( a Filipino rice cake).
Ingredients:
Crust:
4 pcs Raspberry granola bars
3 tbsp melted butter
1/3 cup almond meal
Cheesecake filling:
1 pkg sarap pinoy bibingka mix
300 g Philadelphia cream cheese
2 eggs
3/4 cups sugar
250 ml heavy cream
Topping:
shredded coconut
fresh strawberry
crumbled raspberry bars
orange marmalade jam
Pre heat oven Gas mark #3
Crumble the raspberry bars, mix in almond meal and butter. Place the mixture in muffin baking tin. set aside
Mix bibingka with coconut milk, add cheese and sugar. Add egg one at a time. Combine heavy cream. Pour batter into the prepared crust. Bake for 20 minutes. Top with selected fruits or nuts and shredded coconut.
Serving suggestions:
Flavour no. 17 is another Filipino cupcake made from Kraft Cheddar cheese. I remember my high school days (1970’s) having cupcakes as a mid day snacks was considered as “social” like sort of privilege! Now a days, almost everyone can bake or buy cupcakes :-).
Ingredients:
1 3/4 sifted cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 can condensed milk
1/2 cup Kraft cheddar cheese
Pre heat oven Gas mark # 3
Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, beat butter,sugar and eggs. Cut and fold into the mixture the dry ingredients, alternating with condensed milk. Add shredded Kraft cheddar cheese. Scoop the butter into the paper-lined muffin baking tin, top with more shredded cheese. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
Topping:
Cream cheese frosting
white chocolate
almond nuts
yellow food colour (optional)
Serving Suggestions:
Ladies, I am practicing my piping skills and i know i need more practice 🙂 i’m getting there!
Jamilamimi
Dr. Myriam- The Dental Aesthetic Clinic 
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