A Downside of Travelling: Packing

Our bedroom is just one HUGE mess. We're leaving tomorrow and I had to haul out most of our Summer clothes from the closet to pick out which ones I could bring to the trip. So now, I'm sitting on the floor in the middle of 3 piles of clothes resembling ... termite hills. One mound of Winter clothes, a second one of Summer clothes, and the biggest pile of all - Laundry!! Our 3 opened suitcases are lying on the living room, occupying most of the floor space... Toiletries and other clothes scattered on the bed... Man, this packing business has left me all strung-out. At least were headed to the beach this time so I really don't have to pack anything bulky. Some slip tops, swimsuits, a few pairs of rubber flipflops, capris, sunblock - and I'm all set! I also have my handy set list for my Carry-On bag (which almost never changes), and a short "To-Do-List". I hang on to these crumpled slips of paper so that everytime we go somewhere (longer than 3 days), I just have to give them a quick once-over and I won't miss anything.

So, what IS in my carry-On-Bag?
- passports: S and mine
- sunglasses
- travel itinerary/hotel information
- cash
- credit cards, bank cards, insurance cards
- travel-size toothbrush/toothpaste
- mint gums/Liquid Ice mints
- small bag of gummie bears for S
- small bottled water
- magazine
- house/suitcase keys
- 2 black pens
- camera
- small bottle of Tartine Et Chocolat perfume (to share with S.)
- small hairbrush
- individually wrapped panty-liners (in-case-of-"emergency")
- (for long flights) a pair of comfy socks
- Chanel Chance hand lotion
- M.A.C. Oyster Girl lip gloss
- Shisheido 2 deep brown eyebrow pencil
- M.A.C. C3 pressed powder
- Shisheido L4 Golden bronze make-up powder
- Chanel Les 4 Ombres 79 Spices eyeshadow
- Prescriptives Kohl eyeliner
- travel-size Purell sanitizing gel & some handy wipes
- travel-size moisturizer
- small bottle of Motrin/Tylenol/Immodium tabs
- phone
- a copy of S' birth certificate

My Short "To-Do-List"

12. get a pedicure
11. pick up clothes from the cleaners
10. load dishwasher
09. discard all perishable food/fruits from kitchen and fridge
08. have P. throw out the garbage
07. feed the fish (and snail)
06. water plants
05. make sure oven and stove are turned OFF
04. unplug appliances
03. check cash on hand
02. turn off ALL lights
01. LOCK ALL DOORS

Mini-Me Travel Essentials

Speaking of trips, for seasoned travelers out there who are fed up with carrying regular-sized items of basic toiletries, www.minimus.biz may have the answer to all your needs. Want soy sauce with that piece of chicken? A small tube will set you back just $0.25 cents. On the other hand, why would someone wanna buy a miniature bottle of ketchup when a few packets can be swiped at the nearest MickeyD's - for free?

"Balut" Wins Again

On GQ's February 2006 issue, GQ correspondent Alan Richman wrote an article entitled: "Waiter, there's a Cloven Hoof on my Plate", about his search of the weirdest food in New York City. Of the 10 dishes that he tasted (these includes veal testicles, spicy beef penis, chicken assholes, duck tongues in wine sauce...), guess which one took the cake?

An excerpt of his article:

Dish: Balut

Cuisine: Philippines

Mark Ronquillo who is half Filipino, told me this disturbing account of a visit to the Philippines with his father: "I was probably 7 years old, and saw him eating these eggs at a backyard party. When I saw what was inside, I was horrified. I ran away." What could be inside an egg that would evoke such dread? What else but the unborn? Ronquillo and his wife, Ivy, had joined me at a tiny Manhattan cafeteria called *Elvie's Turo-Turo (turo-turo means "point-point"). The balut, boiled and looking harmless, sit atop the counter in a bowl. They're actually fertilized duck eggs in which the embryo has been allowed to develop for a little more than two weeks. Inside each egg is embryonic fluid. Drink up. Dig into the solid contents, which vary in appearance, depending on the stage of development. Ivy suddenly stopped picking at hers and gasped, "Oh jeez, I got a feather. No, I got a whole friggin' wing." Mine seemed to contained a marbleized fetus, an impressionistic duck. As I ate, the juice ran down my arm and over the pen. I tossed the pen. I didn't know what to do with the arm. The juice was not awful. It was mild, ducky and eggy. The flavor of the barely formed creature within was reminiscent of egg, too. In the Philippines, balut is a snack food. To some, it's an aphrodisiac. To me, its tradition run amok, probably the weirdest dish on earth.

(Angel's Note: *Elvie's Turo-Turo is located at 214 1st avenue.)

Crash Diet Update

Enough of the Leek-Beef Soup diet. P. found the big pot in the fridge and took half of the soup to work for his lunch. My meals for the rest of the week consisted of heavy, fat-laden breakfast (think western cheese omelets or slabs of bacon/2 eggs-over-easy with cup of oatmeal). Lunch and dinner was either broiled short ribs (or chicken) paired with mixed salad...

...or bunless burgers on a bed of lettuce

For sides, sometimes I'll have sauteed kohlrabi with a small chopped bellpepper...

...or steamed okra in soy/vinegar/pepper flakes dip

When I get hunger pangs in between meals, I'll grab a piece of fruit - or a slice of cheese.

'Gotta have my daily Energy Drink - just switched to the Low Carb one. I also made sure I drank lots of water since this was a sure way to get me constipated =( .

Ooops.. My fish supply is running low - time to take a trip to Chinatown again...

Mag Read of the Day: February 2006

If there is any blogger who is interested in getting this copy, I will mail it to the first one who'll ask. (for FREE, of course). Sorry, native New Yorkers are exempted - go get your own!

Crash Low-Carb Diet (1)

It wasnt such a long time ago when it would take a whole window display of flimsy, lacy La Perla undies to make me do a double-take. Nowadays, it's something much more mundane - like a rare package of blemish-free okra from a corner-street vendor. *gasp* Sometimes I wonder whatever happened to the vamp Angel? We'll be taking our first trip of the year in a few weeks to coincide with our 6th Wedding Anniversary. Starting yesterday, I placed myself on a modified high protein, low-carb diet - my way. I have no intention of going back to my pre-motherhood size of 0-2. My goal is simple: to be able to blend in with the beach crowd. In my swimsuit. Without provoking any unwanted gawks and shocked stares. But before anything else, let me set something straight: I'm not an advocate for any one particular diet program. This is not for everyone. If anyone decides to follow this, you are very welcome to do so at your own risk. So with that out of the way, I started with the Two Day Leek-Beef Soup Detox. (Hate cabbage). Soup ingredients: Leeks, Beef chunks, Onion, Spices, Salt, Pepper, Dash of Cayenne. (you can add Celery, Cabbage or Chayote if you want). I made a HUGE pot and am eating this for 2 days. For breakfast, I had the soup mixed with 2 tablespoons of oatmeal
Lunch: Soup with some Leeks
Dinner: Soup with Leeks and pieces of Beef

Crash Low-Carb Diet (2)

In between meals? I had a few pistachios for morning snack...And munched on Jicama when I got hunger pangs during the rest of the day.

S. and P. are exempted from my self-imposed "diet" - so for S's Valentine's Day class party yesterday, I made a tray of chicken nuggets and a whole pan of buttered corn/peas/carrots as her food contribution. Temptation... Temptation...

I spent some time at her school during their fun lunch hour...


...and helped distribute her Valentine goody bags to her classmates after they had eaten.

Happy Valentine's Day!

To P., on this day of Hearts:In the career of female fame, there are few prizes to be obtained which can vie with the obscure state of a beloved wife, or a happy mother. - Jane Porter

Photos: Blizzard of the Century (2/12/06)

The 26.9-inch total snow that was dumped in Central Park today was the highest since record-keeping began in 1869 - and wiped out the old record of 26.4 inches, set on Dec. 27, 1947. Here are some photos of this historic event:

Sledding in Central Park

Street Lights: At 1:oo o' clock in the afternoon

"Iced" coffee, anyone?

Perfect Snow Cones: Just drizzle some syrup

A Deserted Street: 5th Avenue

Ooops!! Wrong Way...

ChiLd'S BaNtEr #4: SaY WhAt??

Location: In the Shower
S. touched my leg and asked: "Mama

, why do we have different colors?" "What is my color?" I asked her back - as I wanted to make an example.   "Light brown..." she answered. "And Papa?" "Oh he's white. Whitish pink..." I smiled and gently prodded. "So that means that you're mixed. And what does that make you..?" She glanced at her arm and triumphantly declared: "...PEACH!!!"

Good Eats: SAUSAGES AND COLD CUTS!!

Once or twice a week, we stock up on cold cuts for S's school lunch, and buy sausages and other deli products (macaroni salad, cucumber salad, potato salad, herring, red cabbage, sauerkraut) for home. Schaller & Weber is the best deli to get these goods. It's always bustling with activity all throughout the day, so I guess there's a lot of satisfied customers out there who share my opinion. The men (strange, no women) who work there are efficient and very polite, and they're never too busy to slice a piece of bologna to give to any kid who walks in. They have excellent cold cuts and offer a wide variety of other meat products. They even have a butcher shop in the premises. Bologna, salami, cervelat, landjaeger, leberkaese, fresh swedish ham, smoked bacon are among the popular items. The sausages: bratwurst, bauernwurst/farmer's sausage (my fave!), knackwurst & weiners are uber-good. They also have other stuff like bonbons, chocolates, kinder surprise eggs, lakritz (licorice), gummi bears, frozen meat (goose,duck), bread, cakes... The list goes on and on, surprisingly a lot for a moderately-sized deli shop. If you're in the neighborhood and fancy some authentic German products, or if you're just into really good food - do pay them a visit. It's located at 2nd Avenue bet. 85th-86th street.http://www.germanyinnyc.org/index.php?section=guide&sub=fooddrink&parid=1
A Sampler (clockwise: Swedish Ham, Cervelat, Bologna) LINK:

http://www.schallerweber.com/index.asp?action=page&name=1

"Energy Drinks"

'Can't stay up the whole day with just 2 cups of coffee alone. 'Gotta have at least one can of Energy Drink at work.
One of the more popular ones is Red Bull but when I'm in a rush, I'd randomly grab any can that has the words "energy drink" stamped on it. On one such day - I was minding my own business, drinking from one of these cans when I noticed a co-worker looking at me in an amused way. Seeing one raised eyebrow, she pointed to the can that I was holding. As I examined it closely, I got kinda embarrassed to see that one of the ingredients prominently displayed on my energy drink was:"HORNY GOAT WEED"Upon further scrutiny, so were the words: "AROUSE",

and "STIMULATE". Duh, Angel...  Thank goodness it was just all false advertisement!   My lesson of the day: "Read All Labels Before Buying Anything!" BTW, in case you're curious to know which one actually works - contrary to the popular belief (Red Bull), it's the Extreme Energy Shot from the Arizona Bev. Co. It tastes a lot like stale sugar water, but that's another story.

Bargain Eats: LOBSTER MONDAYS!!

It was my turn to pick up S. from her gym class yesterday and bring her to her weekly after-school German language class a few blocks away. By the time she got out we were both starving, so we decided to check out Mo's Caribbean which was located within the vicinity. Mondays was their Lobster Night special. Mo's Caribbean Mexican Grill is located at the cor. of 76th Street and 2nd Avenue

The steamed lobster (sorry, no broiled) was served with drawn butter and a wedge of lemon. It's not City Island quality but for $9.95 (single lobster price on other days: $17.95), I ain't complainin'. Upon my request, they also gladly cracked S's lobster shell for her. Each table had a complimentary basket of chips and salsa. If you ask for more, it'll set you back $2.95. Sides are extra: Mixed green salad was $2.95 and the waffle fries, $4.95. For budget-conscious patrons, they also have $1.00 tacos every Saturdays and Sundays.

The drinks are really good - and cheap! They have Happy Hour from Mondays to Fridays from 4P to 7P wherein all drinks (including top-shelf) are half-priced. That means S. got to guzzle her Virgin Strawberry Daiquiri for $2.50 and I had my Frozen Strawberry Margarita for 3 bucks! CHEERS!!