My Lola Sebia

Eusebia deGuzman Vicente

December 9, 1914 - June 10, 2002

Lola Sebia always celebrated her birthday on December 14th when we lived in NYC. However, her real birthday is December 9th. Since I've grown up celebrating it on the 14th, I still continue to do so. While going through my albums, I've noticed that I have way more pictures of Lola and me than I do with Lolo. I have found a lot of pictures of me as a baby and a young Tito Mike and an even younger Tito Monching - scroll down to the bottom! I'd like to do before and afters for my scrapbook.

I miss my grandmother very much. Tyler did not get a chance to know her because Lolo and Lola left in my second trimester. Terrence, however, was lucky to have spent his early years with them. Terrence's last conversation with Lola was about a month after Lolo passed. He was about to turn 9 in a few weeks. Lola was crying on the phone and he told her, "Don't worry, Lola. I'll come stay with you during summer vacation." She must have asked him when that was because he told her it was in June. When I told Terrence that Lola was called to Heaven, he said, "I was supposed to go. She had nobody to talk to."

I remember one winter when Dad was coming back to NJ from the Philippines, he called from Alaska and said, "We're here in Alaska now." Mom and I didn't know who "we" was. And it was the best surprise for me to see them both. So this last time before I had Tyler, I figured I would see them again the following year or so because they generally come back after a couple of years.

I remember my summers in Cali. One year, Lola was excited that I was coming that she forgot she had injected her insulin and did it a second time. This was when they were living on Court Street. She went to some candy warehouse (before there was Costco or Sam's Club) and bought me a box of Kit Kat bars, knowing that I love them so much. She should know, with how many she has bought me over the years. So the following year, I wanted to surprise them so that wouldn't happen again.

I remember I was very spoiled by both Lolo and Lola. Whatever I wanted, they gave me. I remember the last summer I spent there was right before high school. I didn't know then that I wouldn't be spending my summers there anymore. But I was on the plane and I cried and sobbed so hard. I was 13 at the time. There was an older lady sitting next to me and she asked me what was wrong. I couldn't speak for a long time, the only thing I could say was, "Grandparents." She thought I had lost them, but later I told her that I was sad because I wouldn't see them until next year. Over the years, I called often, that I still remember their phone number when they were living on Ingraham Ave - 213-413-0171.

I remember "window shopping" with Lola in NYC, going to the various street fairs, going to church. And one thing that I didn't like when I was younger was our daily evening prayers. We did this for years. But looking back now, I am grateful that she has instilled the love of God and faith in me. Just because I went to a private Catholic school, doesn't mean I had the foundation of faith taught to me. I learned more from her than all my years combined in Immaculate Conception School.

I love you with all my heart, Lola! I miss you more than I can describe!

Lolo and Lola at 722 Larch Avenue, Teaneck NJ
Spring 1998

Wow! Who are they? I know that's me that Lola is holding.

Lola and Albie - February 26, 1971
"Flying Kiss Action"

My Lolo

Cornelio Tigas Vicente
September 13, 1907 - October 6, 2001

Today is my Lolo's birthday. He would have been 100 years old today. I have so many happy memories of my Lolo. Way too many to post here. I've been collecting these memories in order to include them in a scrapbook. If anyone has anything they want to add, I would love to include them in the scrapbook.

My Lolo was and always will be the love of my life. I remember him as always being there with me and for me. I never had one angry or negative thought about him, and I'm sure everyone will say the same thing. He was always so supportive of me and I admit, he did spoil me. I wonder if he ever knew how much I love him. I feel as though I could have done more or said more to show my love for him. All I know is that there is no other granddaughter in the world who has as much love for their grandfather than I do.

I remember the very last time we were together. We were sitting at the airport terminal waiting for my Lola to get back from the emergency room to cut the ring off her swollen finger that she squeezed in a door. They were going to leave to head back home to the Philippines. I was about 5 1/2 months pregnant with Tyler and I was walking around in my high-heeled boots that I was wearing all day at work.

Lolo scolded me that I should not be walking too much and made me sit on the wheelchair that was assigned to Lola. I didn't know what to say to him, except "I love you, Lolo. I'm going to miss you." And I held his hand the entire time. I never spoke to him again after that, as he cannot hear very well on the phone whenever I called home. I wasn't able to see him one last time or attend his funeral.

I watched his funeral video again. My mom wasn't sure of his DOB. However, before I knew it I forgot about checking the dates and started watching it. And I wept just like I did when I first saw it. I know he is with me - and Tito Pate, Lolo Mat, my Dad and my Lola, too - because I carry them in my mind and in my prayers, and most especially, in my heart. But yet, I miss my Lolo very much.

Lola and Lolo at 722 Larch Avenue, Teaneck, NJ
Lola, me, and Lolo in front of Rockafellar Center 1972

Happy Birthday, Tito Pate!

September 12th is my beloved uncle's birthday. He passed away 3 years ago. I was blessed to have him in my life. I was also very lucky to have spent some time with him just a mere 3 1/2 months before his passing. I left the Philippines on May 8th. He and my paternal grandfather died within days of each
other that same year.





Lolo Mat and Tito Pate, I miss you! I'm happy to have spent time with you one last time! It was 23 years since I last saw my grandfather and about 15 years since I last saw Tito Pate. What a reunion!

Contact me!

Can't seem to find a contact button on here . . . so if you need me, HRH Albie Francisco -

albie@typedrecordingsinc.com

I Will Always Remember

Although this happened six years ago, it still feels like it just happened. I may have moved half a country away, and nobody here really understands the impact of that morning. I remember it like it was just last week.

Alan has not started school yet because he was waiting for his records to come from the Philippines. Terrence walked off to school and it was a nice mild, breezy, sunny day. I remember Tyler was a little over 2 years old. We both were up early with Rodney and then got Terrence ready for school. My mom went to work that morning and Alan was still asleep. So Tyler and I went back to bed. I looked at the clock, it was 8:38 AM.

Alan woke me up a little bit after 11, and yelling, "Ate, the Twin Towers is gone. The Pentagon - gone!" I was a bit dazed and he turned the channel to the the closest channel that was showing the news. Of course, we were glued to the television for days and even weeks afterward. The people was what I was concerned about. How bad was it in there that people chose to jump? I have asked myself that question over and over throughout the years. Everytime there was an email or something in the news about wearing red or light a candle outside your house or display the American flag or observe a moment of silence, of course, we did those things because of the poor innocent victims that we saw before the collapse jumping or waving out the window - and then ... they were gone!

I read many books about that day, bought the DVDs. I even did a few transcripts in preparation for these books, movies, and documentaries. And even then, when I felt such grief for those victims and their families, that was nothing.

Just a few weeks ago, I came across this YouTube video of a transcript of a 9-1-1 call from Kevin Cosgrove [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE9TLgCVLBM]. The audio was used during the trial of one of the "replacement" hijackers, who is now serving a life sentence for that conviction. Listening to that recording, I cried like it just happened.

My prayers are with Kevin Cogrove, his family, and the many other voiceless souls! Not just today on 9/11, but always. That recording has changed my life. Listen to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EE9TLgCVLBM

Grey's Anatomy, MP4, and Dasani

I can't wait for the start of Grey's Anatomy! Since it's been off for the summer, I'm into Army Wives now. I started with Starter Wife, which I liked. I thought the movie was much better than the book though. I also started watching Brothers and Sisters, too. I was getting kind of bored with Ugly Betty, though.

I've downloaded older episodes of other series, too, which I have to convert to MP4 so I can watch it on my iPOD. Otherwise I don't have time to watch. I've downloaded the first couple of seasons of Monk, Entourage, Bones, Criminal Minds (SHEMAR!!!), Medium, and CSI NY. Early Edition, and Heroes. I paid for a subscription to RapidShare and MegaUpload just so I can grab these. I don't trust LimeWire since my last virus, and I don't understand Torrents.

Converting to MP4 takes so much time, though. For Alan's birthday, I made him and Joan about 20 CDs of must-have movies, I think there's something like 200 movies in that collection. Some were bootleg version of the just-released in theaters, but by the time he got them, the real DVDs were out already.

So with all my scrapbook stuff and movies and music, blank DVDs go through my home like Dasani water! I have 2 external hard drives, both 250 gigs. Every other day, they become full. Any ideas on how to organize my DVDs though? I can't keep them in the spindle, and I would have too many CD books. Maybe I should just keep getting external hard drives. I think now I can get double the size for the same price I paid for my 250 gig ones.

Quiz - Which Grey’s Anatomy Woman Are You?

http://quizfarm.com/test.php?q_id=327498&first=yes

My results:

You are Izzie Stevens!

Izzie Stevens		65%
Meredith Grey		50%
Addison Montgomery		50%
Callie Torres		45%
Miranda Bailey		45%
Cristina Yang		30%

Neat organization! For Sarah (my little organizing freak!)

Now, I've always thought of myself as a relatively organized sort of person, but this blogger puts me to shame! Scroll down to her Feb 2, 2007 entry and marvel with me at the way she stores her photos and cds/dvds ... I'm still in shock! And that leads me into today's little project, which will probably take me a couple of weeks to finish.

I have a folder ... and in the folder is a contact sheet of the layouts I created for the month, and in a dvd sleeve is a dvd, with the month's psd files, 8x8 inch jpegs to print, and jpegs saved at web quality, AND that month's photos. So how ORGANIZED am I? I've done 2007 ... and tomorrow I will grind back through my digi years of 2006 back to 2003! Like I said, it's going to take weeks!!!

I read an article this weekend in NetGuide on how best to back up files on dvd. Summarized, the article said ... the most expensive discs are not necessarily the best. Verbatim has been the most consistant performer, producing the least number of errors over a significant number of burnings. Don't burn your discs at the drive's maximum speed. The faster you burn, the more errors you will end up with. The recommended speed is half what your drive will do. Check to see that the data has copied after you have finished burning the dvd. Store your backup discs in a cool, dark, dry location. Make multiple backup discs on multiple types of discs. Transfer these backups to new discs every five years. Ok ... now you know. Oh yes, why the sudden interest in backing up? Lanne? How's the recovery going? :(

GUCCI GUCCI COO

I read this book and thought it was cute. Teaneck, NJ was mentioned in it, so I loved it. When we moved to STL from NJ, I gave away hundreds of books. Somehow I was able to gain those hundreds back this move again. The library has become the lucky recipient this time. I think I'll be more of a frequent visitor there from now on.

I admit, I was a library snob. I had to have the new book that nobody has yet opened. But now, I love that I can walk away with an armload of books and don't have to move with them!

HP AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS

Okay, I read through this one pretty fast. I was on total lockdown. No phone, no TV, no Internet. I finished it in 2 days, but I felt that I missed a lot, so I'm going to read it again. However, I didn't even reread the other ones, and now that there are no more, maybe I should revisit them again. I was particularly disturbed by AD's death (as Sarah can attest to). What else did anyone think about the last book?

SPINACH SALAD

I got this recipe from Gi, who got it from her sister. We had this during a get-together at Abe's house. It was so great, I had to call Gi the next day and get the recipe. That night we also had the salmon with mayo and tomato. I won't post that recipe because there's no measurements at all. But now, I've added chopped scallions and capers to it. Sometimes, I'll separate a boiled egg and chop the whites and then the yellow, and garnish it that way. This is the best Spinach Salad I've tasted!

SPINACH SALAD
2 bags of baby spinach

Topping
3 hard boiled eggs (2 chopped, 1 sliced)
1 package bacon (crumbled)

Dressing
¼ c honey
¼ c ketchup
¼ c white vinegar
1 c oil
Dash of Worcestershire sauce
1 small red onion chopped

24 hours before serving, combine in the ingredients for the dressing. Whist until blended. Cover and refrigerate.

Wash and dry spinach. Right before serving, empty one package of spinach in bowl. Spoon in dressing, toss in ½ portion of bacon and ½ portion of chopped hard boiled egg. When evenly mixed, garnish with ½ portion of sliced hard boiled egg.

DOUBLETREE HOTEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

We checked into the Doubletree Hotel near Sesame Place when Terrence was 3 years old and were given these cookies. It was great, but then never thought about them again. I heard about them again when I was booking the great Dr. Bruce Thiers, dermatologist extraordinaire from South Carolina, for a series of meetings for the speaker's program that I was working on at MedLearning back in the day. He told me that he loves the cookies at Doubletree.

We went to Sesame Place for Tylers 5th birthday, and again stayed at the Doubletree. This time, we were hooked!

We live 5 minutes away from a Doubletree now. We now buy them by the dozen. But I came across this recipe on the Internet, which of course, we tried. It's not the same, but it's still a great cookie!

DOUBLETREE HOTEL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

½ c rolled oats
2 1/3 c all-purpose flour
1 ½ t baking soda
1 t salt
¼ t cinnamon
1 c butter, softened
¾ c brown sugar, packed
¾ c granulated sugar
1 ½ t vanilla
½ t lemon juice
2 eggs
3 c semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 ½ c chopped walnuts

Grind oats in a food processor until fine. Combine the ground oats with the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl.

Cream together the butter, sugars, vanilla, and lemon juice in another medium bowl with an electric mixer. Add the eggs and mix until smooth. Stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture and blend well. Add the chocolate chips and nuts to the dough and mix by hand until ingredients are well blended.

For the best results, chill the dough overnight in the refrigerator before baking the cookies.

Spoon rounded ¼ c portions onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Place the scoops about 2 inches apart. Bake in a 350F oven for 16-18 minutes or until cookies are light brown and soft in the middle.

LECHE FLAN

I found this recipe on the Internet and I've used it a few times with great results. Sometimes I'll substitute the almond extract with lemon.

LECHE FLAN
1 ½ c sugar
2 cans condensed milk
Equal amount of fresh milk (pour into empty condensed milk can to measure)
8 eggs
1 t vanilla
1 t almond extract
¼ t salt
1 T amaretto or almond liqueur

Preheat the oven to 325F.

To make the caramel, heat the sugar in a medium sized skillet over medium heat. When the sugar begins to melt, reduce the heat to low and continue cooking until the sugar has melted and browned. Spoon or pour the caramel over the bottom of a 3 qt oval baking dish and tilt the dish so that caramel spreads evenly around the size.

The caramel hardens as it cools, so work quickly. In a bowl, whip the eggs gently until smooth and then add the condensed milk, fresh milk, vanilla, almond extract, salt and Amaretto. Whisk until smooth. Strain the mixture through a strainer.

Set the mold in a larger pan of warm water. The water must reach half the depth of t he mold. Cover the flan loosely with foil to prevent it from overbrowning. Bake for 1 ½ hours until the center feels just firm when pressed. Remove from the water bath and allow to cool. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.

Unmold by placing a large decorative platter over the mold, and using both hands, flip the mold over onto the platter.

Surprises - a cookie recipe

This recipe was given to me by Jodi over at Apex Communications and MedLearning. She made this my last Christmas there in 2003. I thought I had lost this recipe, but then found it when we were packing for the move. Whew - I'm so glad I did. Thanks, Jodi, for all the extra calories. Her note on the bottom is exactly how she had given me the recipe. She forgot to mention that perhaps three batches because you will definitely pop a few in your mouth as you're rolling them!

SURPRISES
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 heaping cup of marshmallows
1 ½ heaping cup of chocolate chips
11 graham crackers (whole crackers, not just half) broken into dime sized pieces
Confectioners sugar

Combine marshmallows, chocolate chips, and graham crackers. Pour in condensed milk. Mix well until all pieces are coated. Let it sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, butter a pyrex dish, don’t use aluminum, it sticks too much. Then flour the pan with the confectioners sugar. Pour mixture that has been sitting into dish, make as even as possible (otherwise parts of the mixture will burn).

Bake in 325F oven for approximately 15-20 minutes, or until marshmallows are light golden brown. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Prepare cookie tins or Tupperware by layering with plastic wrap. All of the container should be covered, or Surprises will stick. Container should be airtight.

Pour about a cup of confectioners sugar into a bowl that you will be able to roll Surprises in, not too deep, not too shallow. With teaspoon, lift about a spoonful of warm mixture and roll into confectioners sugar. Form a ball that is coated with sugar. Place touching each other in the container.

After one layer of the container is full, add another layer of plastic wrap. The Surprises will stick together side by side a little bit, but putting another layer on top without the plastic wrap will give you one big Surprise. Refrigerate until Surprises are solid. Best served cold, however, they are fine at room temperature.

Jodi's note: I always make 2 batches at once. In separate bowls and Pyrex dishes. The process is messy, but it's delicious!

Lemon Delite

This recipe was given to me by Tita Betty, my best friend's mom - you know who you are, Sar - or you'd better! Anyway, she is one of the best cooks I know ... Tita Betty, I mean. Definitely not Sarah! I'm going to try to get her recipe for the Vegetable Eggrolls and Baklava.

LEMON DELITE

Crust
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
½ cup walnuts, chopped fine

Bake at 370 for 20 minutes or golden brown.

First Layer
2 bars cream cheese
1 ½ cup confectioner sugar
2 T vanilla
Cool Whip

Second Layer
Lemon pudding
2 bars cream cheese
Small crushed pineapple

Top Layer
Cool Whip and chopped walnuts

MOVED .... again!

I am such a bad blogger. Not only have I been consumed with transcription work, but as many of you know, we had moved again. Our new house is in one of the top 2 schools in Missouri, so it is well worth it. We are also fixing up a property in downtown SL. After we're done with it, I might want to move in it! But the schools are not that great over there, even the private ones.

Anyway, Mom and Alan came right in the middle of the move. We should have been done by the time they got here. We actually closed on the house three weeks before they got here, but we were closing on the downtown property, as well. There was a lot of negotiations going back and forth because I was fighting the price. All in all, everything turned out wonderfully and even more so than we had planned.

So I was not actually able to take pictures when Mom and Alan were here because we couldn't find which box any of the cameras were! So I won't be posting any of those. That's okay, there will be a few more visits and then we'll be back home in NJ! Never thought I'd say it, but I miss NJ!

The weather here is ridiculous! It has consistently stayed well into the 90s since the end of May. But in July and especially in August, it has gone up to the triple teen digits - 113, 118! We had a break some time last week when it was 88. What a relief! But now, it's back to 97 and 104 steady!

I'll be posting some of my recipes on the blog and if I ever do a digital scrap page, I will post it here. Who knows when that'll be! Feel free to leave a comment!

My cool kid

Tyler

Me and Diva!

Yes, I finally have my little girl that I always wanted. And the best thing is, she doesn't talk back and I don't have to deal with attitude. And yes - she is truly a bitch!