Art In Island Review

We went to a birthday in Quezon City last Sunday. I thought, while we're there, we might as well go to Art in Island since it's just 15 minutes away from where the party was.

Did I mention it was a Sunday? 

Anyway, the party was in the afternoon so we went to Art in Island in the morning. Well actually, since we drove for two hours in the morning, we got to Quezon City around 11:00 a.m. so we decided to have early lunch first at Ali Mall. Yes, Ali Mall is still in existence and that was my very first time to enter it. 

So after lunch, off we went to our destination. We got a little lost so we ended up going there through the back way. Which was okay because we ended up in a place much bigger than what we expected.

They said to bring socks and jacket (from their facebook page) so I did for my daughter, but not for me.  Well, it was okay not to bring socks because a lot of the people inside were just barefoot. They sold pairs of footwear at the entrance just a little better than foot mittens if you don't want your feet to get cold or dirty.

When you get inside, you'll understand why shoes should be off. The paintings are everywhere, even the floors. So even though they're covered with like a colorless polish, we wouldn't want those priceless paintings to get scratched.

Here are some of them...

How many people do you see?

Because it's a Sunday, there were lots of people (without artistic sense, sorry to say) who just get in the way without waiting for their turn so that they can get the bigger picture.

For a lot of the paintings you really have to take them far back to get the whole thing or the whole story behind if I may say.

It was really fun posing for the shots. I honestly didn't think my princess will have that much fun there since they're just paintings and she doesn't like posing for picture-taking (until now) but she actually did.

It was a good experience and what's better is seeing our pictures after that which really looked like we were part of the painting.

Our rating:     

Multiplication and Division for Grade 1?

The K-12 system of education was implemented here in the Philippines two years ago.

Personally, I don't think there's a real need for that. I grew up and finished school with the old system and I am sure my parents can say that I was well rounded without the the extra two years.

My siblings and I (all five of us) went to the same public elementary and high schools. Back in those days, the only difference between a public and a private school is the facilities. 

Of course, private schools had better playgrounds, gyms, audio visual rooms, canteens, auditoriums and most of all better kept comfort rooms. Minus all the pluses of going to a school for the kids of well off families, the quality of education  in the public schools were just as good.

My old classmates and I ended up having good careers. I graduated with a bachelor's degree and is a Registered Medical Technologist. I had friends (classmates) who became registered nurses, a lawyer, a consultant in Neonatal Intensive Care, and even a high ranking officer in the Department of Education.

With the new generation, I hear a lot of negative things about the quality of teaching in the public schools. Could this be the reason why they adapted the K-12 system. It's very possible. Is this the solution to the problem? I doubt it.

I was six years old when I started kindergarten. Now they have to be six years old when they start Grade 1.

It used to be in Grade 2 when they start introducing multiplication and division which means we were eight years old then. Now, they do this at age six or in Grade 1.

I am very lucky in that my daughter is really good in Math. Like her Dad says, her mind has a way of doing it and coming up with the correct answers not necessarily the way they do it in the text book.

This made me think about the dilemma other parents may be having whose kids are not that advanced.  Are kids matured enough mentally to handle multiplication and division at age six? Is the K-12 system really the answer to our education problems?

But then again, I was just talking about Mathematics.

Coleslaw Recipe

We are having fried chicken today for lunch. For some reason, the tv commercials for fried chicken are making me crave for coleslaw. So i made it half an hour before lunch, it's so much better than making the night before as some people say. The fresher the better. So here it is.

Ingredients:
2    cups cabbage, thinly sliced or chopped
1    cup shredded carrots
1    tbsp. finely chopped onion
2    tbsps. mayonnaise
1    tsp. white vinegar
1    tsp. calamansi juice
1    tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp. iodized salt
1    tbsp. sugar
a dash of pepper

Directions:
Combine all the ingredients together and enjoy.

I have used lemon before but the calamansi juice that I tried using today came out better and using extra virgin olive oil didn't have much difference compared to using bacon grease. So healthwise, it's better to use the olive oil.
For the milk, I used to make coleslaw with evaporated milk but this time I just used Oaties (processed-UHT long life milk) and it tasted as good.

Carrot Cake

I was in the mood for a carrot cake today. My daughter was so thrilled when I said it’s baking day today. She loves carrots and having it in a cake makes it even yummier. This recipe is moist and not very sweet. If you’re the type who doesn’t like spices, you can totally remove them and still enjoy your carrot cake.

 Ingredients

For the cake batter:

1½     c. all-purpose flour

1        tsp. baking soda

1        tsp. baking powder

½       tsp. iodized salt

½       tsp. ground cinnamon

½       tsp. ground nutmeg

2        large eggs

¾       c. sugar

1        tsp. vanilla essence

¾       c. canola oil

2        c. shredded carrots

For the cheese frosting:

200g or 8 oz. cream cheese, softened

¾       c. unsalted butter

1¼     c. confectioner's sugar

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 175ºC. Line a 9-inch round pan with baking paper.

2. Mix all the first six dry ingredients in a bowl.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and sugar or put it in number 3 speed using a mixer.

4. Add the vanilla and oil to the egg-sugar mixture and whisk again.

5. Now fold in the dry ingredients to the liquid mixture using a spatula or spoon.

6. When the batter is already mixed well, add the shredded carrots and fold as well.

7. Pour the batter into the lined pan and cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Check the cake with the use of a skewer; it should be done when it comes out clean.

8. Let the cake cool down while preparing the frosting.

9. Combine all the frosting ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well until there are no more lumps.

10. When the cake has cooled down, cover with frosting and then decorate.

Tips:

- Make sure you use a cream cheese brand that you have already tried before so you don't end up with a Class B frosting. I advise not to buy the cream cheese brand that is on my ingredients picture. Expensive doesn't always mean good quality. I'm glad I had an already opened cream cheese pack in my fridge and was able to save my frosting.

- Some bake shops use (orange colored) white chocolate to decorate their cakes moulded as carrots. What I did for mine, I added a few more spoons of confectioner's sugar onto my left over frosting and colored them orange and green with food color to make my carrot designs. It just takes more practice to make the shape though, as you can see from the picture, it's not perfect but my daughter loved the carrot designs. 

- I always use canola oil for all my recipes except for salads. You can check out the WebMD site for more info.

Halloween Trick or Treat Parties 2015

Here are some of Halloween parties for 2015 you may want to check out. I separated them into two: kid-friendly parties and those that may be good for the big ones. I know a lot of kids who don't want to see scary-looking make-ups and costumes. Check which ones you prefer, just click on the links below the pictures to get more information, and happy partying.

Don't forget though that on November 1-All Saint's Day, we reflect on the lives of our saints who are good examples of Christian living. And, of course, on November 2-All Soul's Day is when we remember and offer prayers for our loved ones who have passed away.

Kid-friendly Halloween Parties 2015

Cartoon Network IntergalacticHalloween

Chardonnay by Astoria

             

Gymboree Play and Music

Widus Hotel and Casino

Crimson Hotel Filinvest City, Manila

Summit Ridge Hotel

Tanza Oasis

Casa Pura

Holiday Inn Clark

BEST WESTERN PLUS Antel Hotel

Jollibee Riverbanks Center

The Bellevue Manila‬

Halloween Parties 2015 for Kids and Adults

Nickelodeon Takotown Twisted Tales

Active Fun

Fun Ranch

Azumi Boutique Hotel

Vivere Hotel

PARADISO TERRESTRE

Tiendesitas

Lotus Garden Hotel

Blue Bay Walk

Luxent Hotel

Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall

Island Cove

Mount Sea Resort

Taal Vista Hotel

 Eastwood Richmonde Hotel

            Richmonde Hotel Ortigas

The Oriental Hotels and Resorts

Cash & Carry Supermarket