Ya Hoot Rolls

My family is the outdoorsy type. Instead of having soirees or house parties our concept of bonding would be to drive inter coast into a  state park in our mobile home and just experience nature as God intended. For my parents 40th wedding anniversary they decided to surprise us with a trip to the Amazon for the whole family.

We were all so excited and couldn’t stop thinking about it until we actually got there. It was every bit the fantasy that we had and more, with lush tropics exotic animals and a breathtaking scenery that was perfect for outdoor living.Things turned a bit more exciting than expected when our dog spike decided to wander off and got lost in the woods. Thankfully my parents came prepared and installed a GPS container tracking device on him so we were able to find his location in a matter of hours. Our dog being lost aside, I have to say that spending time with my family on a truly exotic vacation getaway is one of the best experiences I ever had, and that GPS container tracking was really cool. I would love to do the same for my future wife and kids.

Being an intense home gardening enthusiast can be quite an accomplishment. I’ve been gardening for 20 years and I have to say that the best part about tilling soil and caring for flowering plants is the journey you take to reach that end goal of spring when all your blooms are beautifully showcasing their true wonder in different bouquets, aromas and colors. When I decided to move into a bigger home so that I could take up more lawn space do do some landscape gardening, i promised myself I would put a fountain in my backyard. I immediately drew up some plans and decided on  two Dallas stone fountains which would balance out both ends of the yard, culminating in cream and red rose beds.

This plan was easier said than done. It took me about two months before I found the right home gardening contractors to install the fountains. It was worth it in the end because now, my yard is the envy of every neighbor and many of my home owners association members has even asked me in person to help decorate their backyard. Dallas Stone Fountains are truly one of the most beautiful landscape decor you can install in your backyard or garden.

One of the great things about being a retired individual is that you have so much time to devote to things that you’ve always wanted to do but never had the opportunity or time to do so when you were still on the corporate heading. The first thing that I wanted to revisit in my life as I reached my retirement age was my passion for decorating.

I promised myself that I was going to create a beautiful sun room as my first home improvement project to celebrate my prime years. I went to crate and barrel looking for ideas when I found this leather sofas San Antonio style made of black color. I knew that i had to purchase it and make it the centerpiece inspiration for my sun room. I wasn’t mistaken because three months after, that same leather sofas San Antonio is sitting in the center of my sun room with white faux fur cloth as its seat cover. I took my entire inspiration for  the renovation from the leather sofas San Antonio and i was happy that I did because leather chic was easier to channel with it being the focal piece of the room.

When I decided to become a foreign student for college I was fortunate enough to gain entry to one of the most prestigious schools in Asia for my pre med degree. I thought everything was perfect because many things that  were beyond my reach were now made available to me. The tuition was ¼ of what I would pay in an American school, the students were smart off the charts, the professors were truly brilliant and my accommodations were superb, i thought i was living in a five star condo.

I guess the one thing that I didn’t really prepare myself for was the advent of sickness especially during an emergency. I don’t know what I would have done if I didn’t have good student health insurance when I accidentally ate a macadamia nut and went into anaphylactic shock. I am so thankful that my parents insisted that I get good coverage for my medical insurance, which was something i personally would have left out. It really does pay to have excellent medical coverage especially when you are living abroad and do not have family members or relatives to help out in the time of a medical crisis or emergency.

My dad and brothers are extreme sports fanatics. I admired them growing up as they would go on really intense sporting holidays like snowboarding in Aspen or white water river rafting in Tuluka Lake. Since I was the youngest and could barely fit into my sweats I was always left out. But for my 17th birthday my dad decided that I was man enough to finally join one of their white water rafting trips so they invited me to go on a white water rafting trip to the California Rapids.

I have to say that I had looked forward to that day since I was a pre teen and being finally considered as one of the men in the family was both flattering and a bit overwhelming. I spent days just researching what do to, what to wear how to paddle so that my brothers don’t end up teasing me in case i look like a complete sissy in the water. The experience was more than I could ever dreamed  of. I have to say that the feeling of powerful waves hitting against your raft while you use energy and muscle to paddle through the powerful current is just a euphoric experience. I look forward to next summer when we try the exciting waters of Alaska and test our endurance against mother natures’ greatest treasures.

For our 20th anniversary I decided to surprise my wife by creating a romance sanctuary in our backyard. It was the perfect timing because she had to go to her sisters for a couple of weeks and make it back just in time for our anniversary party, which gave me so much time to plan and figure out how to recapture the passion in our marriage my coming up with a romance boudoir.

I started with a beautiful backdrop, some trellises with roses ,a big day bed in the middle of a limestone and marble floor plan and of course to set the ultimate romance mood, a outdoor patio fireplace. I had to hire a professional contractor to get the job done in time but I have to say that It was all worth it especially when i saw the look in my wife’s eyes the first time she saw what I did to our patio. She said that at first she thought she got lost and stumbled into the neighbors house but after she saw me she knew that I went through so much trouble to make the romantic lounge for her. These days, the romance area is our favorite spot where we spend every night cuddling to a warm fire and gazing through the stars.

When I decided to retire from 20 years of working in the textile industry I was so bent on renovating the house that I literally went into a decor rampage. My very first project was to remodel the kitchen. It had been in a state of antiquity,having the same rustic look since my great grandmothers, and I wanted to give it a face lift to bring it into the 20th century.

The first thing that went to my mind was how to set the mood for the kitchen area, ambiance was everything and It was imperative that I find the appropriate kitchen lighting solutions to fit my concept or the renovation would be failed.I did a lot of research until i stumbled on a really good website that offered several lighting fixture techniques and how to effectively play with lighting to get the desired mood or effect in a kitchen. I have to say that picking that first kitchen lighting fix really paved the way for a beautiful and elegant kitchen that I am seriously proud of. Every time I stare into the finished designs and accents for my new kitchen i still cant believe that I was all my doing.

Fresh from graduating college, you would think that the thought of success and promising aspirations would fuel your first few steps into independence; well I was fifty thousand dollars in student debt and was moving in to a crappy studio loft that couldn’t fit my shoe collection. Of course with the obvious predicament aside, I was still pretty happy because I landed a rent control apartment in New York even if it was the size of a shoe box. Of course what i lacked in floor space i made up in ergonomic furniture. I was an interior design major, and for my thesis piece I did a showroom for space preservation through modern design.

Thankfully most of my showpieces were still in storage so I didn’t have to spend much on good stuff for my apartment. The only thing that was missing was a shoe storage bench. I went to Barneys and got myself the cutest looking mahogany show storage bench that I could find and stuffed it into my “mini” closet as soon as I got home. Its funny because its been three years since, I have a better apartment now and the only thing I have of that apartment is the shoe storage bench that I bought out of sentiment and practical use.

I come from a very quiet and reserved family with a lot of baggage that hasn’t been unsaid or buried for the last 20 years. You can say that we are one of those suburban dwellers who seem perfect and polished on the outside but are leaking and about to burst in the inside. When my father lost his job because of the recession, it was one of those eye openers that lead my family to realize that we should say more, love more and become close as bad things can happen and we have no one else to rely on but ourselves.

My mom, being the optimist in our bunch thought that despite the bad news, we should all take a small holiday to patch things up with everyone and have an intimate moment where issues and past grievances could be settled. Of course we had to find an affordable family vacation spot, and luckily we found this beautiful bed and breakfast that offered acres of nature and peaceful serene. I have to say that it was truly the best affordable family vacation we had ever been in, we had so much time to talk and just air out our feelings and eventually reach forgiveness. Now, our family is like brand new and getting stronger by the day.

My mom had such a passion for baking that I couldn’t help but pick it up as I grew up. I found myself spending most of my spare time cooking and baking, trying different recipes from many popular cookbooks and If I wasn’t in the kitchen, I was participating in cooking forums and sharing my recipes and cooking experiences with pastry and cake.

When I finally graduated from high school I was thinking about the move to university grounds and how I would struggle with my hobby, because I couldn’t afford to buy my own oven let alone stuff it inside a college dorm. My mom was so keen on this that she knew exactly what to give me as a going away present; a Krups all in one convection toaster oven.

It could broil, boil, grill and the best part is it was wide enough to accommodate a modest 9×9 cake pan for baking! I have to say that it is the best convection toaster oven I have ever laid eyes on. I was so happy because it did serve it’s purpose and was beyond my expectation of what a convection toaster oven could do. It was the best present I ever got.