Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie n’ Oreo Fudge Brownie Bar

Photo courtesy of www.kevinandamanda.com  

What a sinful, sinful sweet treat!

I know! I know it ain't healthy. But it's sooooo good!

This brownie recipe is worth trying - especially for very chocolate lover out there.

Follow this link and enjoy your treat!

Holiday under the sun

Clearwater Beach, Florida, USA

Sun. Sand. Seas. These are my recipe for a great holiday adventure. This year, we spent it in Florida, USA.

Four (4) weeks touring Florida with my boys … what a bliss!

This holiday is, of course, well chronicled in pictures.

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So, where have you been this summer?

The accident happened for a reason

Sore. That is how my whole body feels right now. My scooter accident last Thursday, 17 July 2014 left me with a fracture in my right hand,bruised and swollen knees, chest and left arm. Yes, you bet I’m in a lot of pain but I’m thankful just the same I am able to walk, albeit slow, and that myfunctional faculties, mental and psychological, are intact. Isn’t that pure miracle?

While I may be battered and bruised physically, the accident has strengthened my faith for things happening for a reason and somehow made me accept what has happened. Someone up there truly loves me and is watching, notonly me but the other driver being a minor, for us surviving all that with “just” fractures and bruises. Truth is, I felt calm through it all, full of profuse thanks to the powerful intervention of someone up there, acknowledging the accident to happen the way HE wanted it to be. How ever so, you may ask. Well, let me walk you through my day before the accident happened.

17 July 2014

Lunchtime. My work for the day has progressed with speed and as I have planned it to be and have ample of time to tie up a few things and finish an hour earlier. My son then called reminding me of things to buy on my way home, as he’s been busy preparing his pack and gears for his summer camp the following day. He’s all too excited to even ask me if he could come by my office so he could join me in getting the items he needed, and that he’ll take the bus and join me in my scooter on our way home or he’s bike to my workplace since the shop is right next to my office. I thought it was a good idea, but towards the end of our conversation, I decided against him coming to my office. I told him we’d get his stuff on our way to the airport tomorrow. He pleaded and begged, but I said no. He was, of course, disappointed – and in the same breadth rambled on the list of items he want to bring with him and he sent mean email requesting a colour-print of a picture he wanted me to bring home. Well past 15.00 hrs, I wrapped up work for the day and headed for home. The accident then took place at around 15.45 hrs.

Now, can you imagine if I had my son on the same scooter on my way home? Had he been riding alongside with me in his own bicycle, it would have been him getting struck by the other biker, or us both. These were the instantaneous thought I had in mind as I lay helpless on the road and was equally concerned for the other biker.

Things do happen for a reason. Any which way you look at it, I’m still the luckiest gal on this planet – and I’m feeling all the love andblessings of His grace and is forever grateful. And so should you.

Eye on the prize: A display of courage and accomplishment

Prep-up with Coach Oscar before the heat race

Yesterday, I watched Alexander with great pride as he competed in his swim age group in Freestyle, Backstroke and Breast stroke.

Despite being nervous, he managed to rise above the pressure and delivered a sterling performance - he placed 1st in his backstroke heat at 22,19 sec, 2nd place in freestyle at 24,0 sec and 5th place in breast stroke at 30,0 sec (he was not happy with this finish as he complained of an unfortunate goggle-malfunction during the actual race).

I am so proud of my dear son as I watched him struggle to catch up after the near "fatal" dive drop for his freestyle heat. He dove way too deep and when he resurfaced, he realised he was deadbeat last. This didn't demoralised him at all. Instead, he flung his arms beautifully in quick strides and swam like a fish to nick 2nd place. It was an unbelievable show of courage not to give up. He fought hard and determined to catch up. I was beaming with pride from the sidelines as my video caught all that on film. I saw how his coach ran down the side of the pool to catch up and give him a high-five and told him he'd done a great race. Alexander was all smiles as he looked up to where I was seated and we exchanged a double thumbs up sign.

Equally amazing was his backstroke performance where he finished first. It was one very tight race but halfway through it, Alexander displayed such determination to cut and surge in an even and quick strides. He breezed past and broke through the pack in one comfortable lead to win the heat hands down. I was holding my breath to the very last second until he touched the black plate and cried: "Yes!" He didn't realised he won the heat until he saw his coach clapping and giving him those two thumbs up sign. He broke his delicious and wide grin of satisfaction, looked up and waved at me.

Instilling in his young mind how important it is never to give up makes me so proud of him. Time and again, we have taught Alexander to trust his capacity of doing the best he could and never to fear the prospect of failing. Mistakes and failure are to be treated as challenges to overcome and not feared, we tell him. His performance yesterday convinced him of his strength and capability to make things happen. I can tell how extremely happy he was over his performance and contribution to the team. I know in my heart he's ready to face bigger challenges ahead of him.

And to cap this great display of courage and accomplishment, I would like to proudly announce that Alexander's competition score has earned him a spot in the swim league to start training with the junior level group - this would mean some serious swim training for competitions! Is he ready for it? You bet he is!

Eye on the prize!

The bittersweet meeting of Kap and his apo

Poolside rendezvous with Lolo Kap

Some ten years ago, my father reached out to me extending his wishes to see me and my son. Estranged as I have been for a good many years, I was overjoyed with the thought of the two meeting up for the first time. 

Their first meeting was bittersweet, because it would also be their last. Short of two years later, my father died from illness. 

Frail and ill as he may have been when they met the first time, they bonded like no other grandfather and grandson. They sat and talked like they have known each other for the longest time. My father looked at his apo with that twinkle in his eyes - full of love and warmth and adoration for this little man. Simply enthralled, mesmerised even. "I wish I could live longer to see him grow up as a young man", he said. My heart broke inside knowing though his heart meant it, his body was too weak to see this through. My son and I did the best we could to savour this meeting and I know for a fact it had a lasting imprint on my son - he remembers my father with great fondness and memory. He remembers his grayling white hair, white beard and white eyebrows - and his sad smiling eyes. At one point my son told me, "He hugged me so tight I couldn't breathe." I smiled and cried inside. 

My father's memory will always live - in me and that of my son. 

All systems go!

Finally! Summer activities identified and logistics have been taken care of. The flight tickets are booked! The hotel accommodations final and booked! And I am broke!

Where to? Take a  wild guess!

Going through the process of debating where to go, what to do this summer took some time before we all agree on our final summer destination. With passports renewed, the travel preparations begun without delay in getting the reasonable flight tickets, setting up detailed itineraries and identifying hotels along the road trip route. What a task to put together! I'm all too happy to get all these into its place and can now sit back and look forward to the day we all go away on a long and much deserved holiday.

Sun, sand and sea, here we come!

CHRONICLED: The Appalling Ills of the Marcoses

 Read more here

I read and re-read and read the nth time. I was disgusted. Angry. And cursed under my breath.

The stuff I got to read about the Marcos family in Caroline Kennedy's Where I Wander blog chronicles is simply beyond me and my sense of sanity. The generation of today need to know of these abomination.

FLASHBACK: Lego Madness

Lego, at one point of our lives, has been the centre of Alexander's everyday activities. He was nuts about building and creating stop-motion films - he lived and breathed Lego! Even in his sleep ...

Eventually, we decided for the hobby to egg out. But even as we buried it to its "grave", it left a lot of fond memories to us.

And so, we created a short film clip (click here or to the picture on the right).

Friday Do's

Fridays is always a treat. You look forward to getting things done at work and almost on a sprint to come home early. Today is one of those days … and I'm looking forward to one quiet evening with family time, food and treats - plenty of treats.

My hubby graciously offered to make some waffles. Who would say no to that? Definitely not me. I welcome the thought of just coming to the table to eat! And mind you, twas one delicious treat.

Sun's still up but the air is crisp as it should be on a March afternoon. For now, I will enjoy these yummy waffles and cream and cloudberry jam.

Cheers!

Scandinavian Blues is back!

And so a new blog was born … Scandinavian Blues.

It's one of those things ... I lost access to my first blog when Blogger "gave" its rights to Google. And me having a number of Google accounts as sorted for personal, business and network uses didn't make it any easier.

It was a bit weird, and a delightful consequence, to realise that it was to this day, 28 March, when I wrote my last entry on Blogger last year, 28 March 2013. After that, I was nowhere lucky to access nor open my blog files. I didn't think much of it until of late when a friend flagged me over the complete absence of updates. 

Also, one of the reason why there had been a lull is the fact that I promised my son, Alexander, now in his teens, that I will not write anything on my blog about him. He said he feels embarrassed to read them, and much so if his friends would chance on it online. Ain't that sweet? Well, I'm a Mom who supports his privacy and integrity. But hey, I'd probably still write bits and pieces once in a while. It wouldn't hurt, would it?

I hope to be able to continue my blog journey as I warp on my Scandinavian Blues - the highs and lows of my pretty ordinary but awesome life out here in Sweden … one I call my home away from home.

Come and get on for the ride! Follow me!