On Vacation

As I am writing, I am also thinking of packing things for our trip to Ireland. We'll be there for about 7 weeks. I'm looking forward to see my nephew and niece, and of course my sister. I would probably slack from visiting other blogs then, but surely I will resume as I get back from vacation. I would surely have a lot of things to share as well. I just hope my little boy would behave during the flight and everything will go smoothly, or else I would surely feel so harass. Only the two of us will be travelling, the hubby will only follow at later date. May we'll have a safe and fun filled trip.

Disneyland Paris

Disneyland is almost synonymous with a happy place. One would not expect you to be lonely in this fantastic place. When I was kid and was asked what's your greatest wish, My answer was to go to Disneyland. It was a wish because going out of the country is expensive and I know that we didn't have the means to do it. The feeling was kinda nostalgic and heartwarming when my sisters and I were talking about it. Yes, we went together in Disneyland with our kids, a wish coming true, we were not able to go there as kids but the more fulfilling it was because we were able to do it with the kids of our own, something that we didn't expect to happen. God has really its way of making things happen for you. I will not be talking about Disneyland Paris here and its amenities, I just like to share you some photos we had. 'Twas taken last year with my family and my sister's family, when they visited us here in Germany and did some side trip together to Paris. Hope you enjoyed the photos above.

shrimp in oyster sauce

My Tuesdays and Thursdays are my quick cooking lunch days. Good if I have cooked a dish the night before then all I need to do is reheating the food. My language classes starts at 9 in the morning and finishes at 11 A.M. It's not quite late though, but the walking from school to our flat is around 30 minutes, so when I reach home it's almost time for lunch. In few minutes, my little boy will be complaining and surely would be asking for his lunch, and in a little while again, my hubby will then come home for lunch. Surely, it's one of my hectic mornings, my afternoons will be more of the daily chores which I consider light for there's no pressure to be doing it at once is needed. So here is one of the quick dishes I cooked.

500 g. frozen shrimp

1 tsbp. sweet chili sauce

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tsp. soysauce

1 tsp. butter

garlic powder

1 tbsp. basil

salt

It's very rare that you can see a fresh sea food in the area, so almost always when we crave for sea foods, the frozen ones are our refuge. So here it goes, thaw the shrimp first, then coat with butter, basil,garlic powder and salt, then set aside. Prepare the sauce, just combine the sweet chili sauce,oyster sauce and soysauce, heat and set aside. Sautee the coated shrimp until cooked. Place the cooked shrimp on a plate then pour the sauce. So quick, yet good enough to fill our lunch. Serve it immediately with rice and your favorite side dish or salad.

My Life's Award

I would like to thank Kikamz of Just About Anything for passing on this award. I'm really glad that I found a fellow mommy blogger here in Germany and as sweet and nice as you.

Here’s the simple rules:
♥ Take your award and put the logo on your post.
♥Link the person who awarded you.Remember each recipient of the award should acknowledge the person who honored them and go to Mom’s Special Diary to copy and paste the award.
♥Put your own blog title and link.
♥Nominate at least five deserving moms.

1. Mom's Special Diary 2. Just About Anything 3. My Life 4. You’re NEXT!

I'm passing this award to the following lovely mommy bloggers:

1. 'te Blessie of Blessed Sanctuary

2. Dhemz of My Life's Perception and Inspiration

3. Michelle of My Crazy Life with a Toddler

4. Willa of Fickle Minded

5. Julie of Momspective

And to Gi-ann of The Second realm thanks again for this lovely blog award. That's so sweet of you.

It's my pleasure to give this award to Yen's Heavenly Delight, Shawie's A Grateful Heart and Dorothy's Women's self esteem.

Health Insurance

Germany has been considered to have one of the best health care system in the world. It provides its resident with comprehensive coverage .With its health insurance reform in 2007, it is now mandatory for everyone living in Germany to have health insurance. Why? Medication,Hospitals and doctors are extremely expensive. You need to secure yourself in times of sickness and emergencies. You can choose between state health insurance and private health insurance. The health insurers differ only slightly in the level of contributions collected and the services and coverage offered. The basic services covered are laid down by law. All employees below a certain income are obliged under law to publicly insured. If income is above, the individual can choose between public/state and private health insurers. Well, you might ask which is better among the two? The answer is it depends on your circumstances. Contribution on state health insurance is based on income,therefore if you have higher income then it would be cheaper to have a private insurance.And one of the greatest advantage in having a state insurance is, your family is included at no extra cost. On the other hand private health insurance is based on your risk profile, not your income. Women and older people in general pay higher contributions than young men. They have calculated it based on possible average cost for different groups. The best side of having private insurance is its scheme offers more extensive coverage including alternative therapies and treatments, glasses, contact lenses and other services that may not be available in state health scheme. Some doctors treated the private health insurer preferentially compared to state health insurer.

sources:

http://www.gkv.info

http://www.bmg.bund.de

Fish fillet in soysauce

It was a lazy Saturday, all I wanna do is sit in the couch and watch a movie. My hubby whose always been understanding and generous willingly volunteered to cook for lunch. We all love fish dishes, and a special request of mine definitely would be a "fish for lunch please". Johann and I was playing and cuddling while the smell and aroma of the cooked fish made us both hungry. By the way, here's what my loving hubby cooked for us.

4 pcs. fish fillet (shark catfish or pangasius)

1 clove of garlic

1 thumb size ginger

1 pc. red bell pepper (sweet variety)

1 tsbp. soy sauce

sunflower oil

salt

Slice all the vegetable thinly and fry it until crispy, then set aside.Use little oil as possible.Keep warm. Season the fish with salt. Fry until golden brown. This time make sure you have a teaspoon of oil left from frying for you will be using this with the fried fish. Lay the fish on a plate, pour the oil left. Garnish with the fried paprika, ginger and garlic. Pour a tablespoon of soy sauce and that's it. A delish lunch for us. Quite simple but I should say very flavorful and satisfying dish. For fish lover you should give it a try.

One Fine day at the Zoo

Raining! that was the weather forecast last Sunday, yet we decided to go somewhere. Remember we dreaded to go to the zoo last easter but was unlucky enough to get a parking space? Right after the mass we just felt we need to go somewhere else, 'twas not planned, and with Johann's fascination for animals we right away thought of the "Zoo" again! We arrived at "Tierpark Hellabrun" just before lunch, the parking lot was almost full and our little boy had fallen asleep. Perfect, we can have a good lunch with my hubby while our little boy is recharging his energy. Children under 4 years old are free, so only my hubby and I have to pay for the entrance fee. That costed 9 euro each. We then head to the nearest entrance and that is where these flamingos are located. Look how lovely these pink creatures are.

The zoo is big enough for you to enjoy all the animals, so we decided to just pick the animals that Johann knew already. Indeed, the feeling is so rewarding to see your little boy with so much awe and joy seeing the animals. He's having a wonderful time with the fishes. Here are some pics of it.

Just as we gazed this gigantic elephant, Johann kept on saying "elephant", so nice to know that your child can now identify some animals. The zoo animals was placed according to continent, so we opt to "AFRICA" because this is where the animals that Johann is most familiar with. Of course along the way, we passed by on some other animals like red panda, iguana and asian elephant. It's so funny because eventhough how much we told him that "oh! there's a leopard! he kept on insisting that it's a tiger. Here are few photos of some animals that Johann had gazed upon:

The most interesting part for me, is the "children's zoo" where you can be with these friendly animals. We chose the goats, at first our little boy was a bit afraid, but as soon as he saw me petting the goat, he also did the same.

It was a one fine day indeed, no rain showers & slightly warm weather. The 3 of us then munch a pack of popcorn before we headed home.

Rusticana

We had a dinner at Rusticana in Munich last night together with some friends. It is actually an advance birthday celebration of a friend. There were five of us, 3 ladies and 2 gentlemen. I'm telling you the numbers because you should know who ate this sumptuous spare ribs I have in the picture. It's indeed a bash. The baked potatoes are equally perfect though I'm not really a fan of it. Our little boy was with us though I made sure that Johann had his fill before leaving the house and of course bring along his favorite toy train thomas and lightning mcqueen to make sure everything will be in order. We enjoyed our food just as much as we have enjoyed our conversation. And the best thing is...it's a treat! Thanks Cenen for the wonderful dinner. We really enjoyed it.

Ginataang manok with pineapple and tomatoes

This is one of Johann's favorite. I really never thought my little boy would love a dish with coconut. Most of the kids I knew, from my cousins, nephews to nieces, they would never touch a dish with coconut when they were young as Johann. Well, I should say maybe genetic played a role,my hubby is such a fan of coconut. He just loves every dish with coconut or we call it"gata". Here's the recipe:

1 kg. chicken (cut into pieces)

onions

5-6 tomatoes

1 can pineapple

1 can coconut milk

salt

oil

Season the chicken with salt and brown the chicken lightly for few minutes, then add the onions and tomatoes. Add the pineapple excluding the juice when the tomatoes are a bit soft. Cover and let it cook for about 3o mins or until the chicken is already tender. Do not be tempted to add water, for the juice from the pineapple and vegetables are enough to cook the chicken. Pour the coconut milk, uncover and let it simmer for few minutes, adjust seasoning,sprinkle a little bit of herb, (mine was italian herb)and you're done!

Discover the Island Mainau

When my mother in law and sis-in law came here in Germany for vacation last year, My hubby and I thought of bringing them in Mainau. It is an island in Lake Constance where it is preserved as a garden Island and a model of environmental practice. It's located in the south shore of Ueberlinger See near the city of Konstanz, Baden Wuerttemberg, Germany. This little island in the heart of Europe never fails to bring us in wonderment. You'll be captivated with the beauteous sight of the lake as we took the boat ride going to the island. It's around 11 A.M and the line going to the entrance was long so we decided to have our lunch first before taking pleasure of seeing the beauty of this mysterious Island. The buzzing bees catches our attention that lead us to find this one.

Gosh! I told to myself, I thank goodness that I wasn't wearing a sweet fruit scented perfume or else these bees will be chasing me. The variety of flowers depends on what season. We went there middle summer so these are the abundant blooms for the season. These big figures form with flowers are all heavenly for me. It really gives you the feeling of delight and awe, how those creative hands of individual who made these lovely flowers and plants more interesting.

The carriage full of tourist added the quality of pleasure brought to our mind and senses. There are also trees featured in different variety. If you're in Europe and your longing for the tropical feel and don't much have the luxury of time to peregrinate in tropical countries, then Mainau will fulfill it. The island has a marvelous butterfly house and made into a tropical environment condition. We were all sweating, as we enjoy the sight of different variety of butterflies and plants. It brought nostalgia to me, I felt like I'm in the Philippines. They also have Palm houses in the island. Amazing right? And if you have young children with you in this journey, the island also offers something for the little ones. The playground.

The feeling of being with nature is so relaxing. The presence of elderly is so visible, it obviously indicates that the place is really a good place to unwind, where there is stress-free and loose environment. I would love to visit back the place.

Pentecost

Whit Monday or Pentecost Monday is a public holiday here in Germany. It is a great festival that marks the beginning of the Christian Church, a commemoration of the descent of the holy spirit on Jesus' followers. This is a precious gift of faith in the saving work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The account of Pentecost can be read in Acts 2 (1:42)

"The Holy Spirit Comes at Pentecost

¹When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.²Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

⁵Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. ⁷Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? ⁸Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? ⁹Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,¹⁰Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs-we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!" ¹²Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, "What does this mean?"

¹³Some, however, made fun of them and said, "They have had too much wine."

Peter Addresses the Crowd

¹⁴Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: "Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. ¹⁵These men are not drunk, as you suppose. It's only nine in the morning! ¹⁶No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel:
¹⁷" 'In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
¹⁸Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.
¹⁹I will show wonders in the heaven above
and signs on the earth below,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
²⁰The sun will be turned to darkness
and the moon to blood
before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord.
²¹And everyone who calls
on the name of the Lord will be saved.

²²"Men of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. ²³This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. ²⁴But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. ²⁵David said about him:
" 'I saw the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
²⁶Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will live in hope,
²⁷because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
²⁸You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.

²⁹"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. ³⁰But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. ³¹Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.³²God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. ³³Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. ³⁴For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said,
" 'The Lord said to my Lord:
"Sit at my right hand
³⁵until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet."

³⁶"Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

³⁷When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"

³⁸Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call."

⁴⁰With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." ⁴¹Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

The Fellowship of the Believers

⁴²They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."

(source: Bible Gateway)