George eating the leftovers

Here's George eating whe leftover from the bulalo. He is having so much fun.

Bulalo and Daing for lunch

Finally, there is bulalo (bone marrow) and daing (salted dried fish) for lunch.

I love them.

Ice skating for the very first time.

Gaylord Texan Hotel & Resort

This is a really nice hotel.  By the way, these are all inside the hotel.

ICE at Gaylord Texan

We went to the Gaylord Texan Hotel and Resort to see this year's ICE exhibit. This year's theme is Charlie Brown's Christmas. It is awesome but was very very cold as they had to keep the temperature at around 9F or -12.8C.

The Bancods visited us after Christmas.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas from the Pasetes Family in Texas.

Standing from L-R: Roel Pasetes, David Ickert, Roger Pasetes, Romel Pasetes, Laird Bishop, Alex Pasetes
Kneeling L-R: Angela Pasetes, Melody Pasetes, Len Bishop, Kaye Pasetes
Front L-R: George, Lauren Bishop, Cookie

We're in Dallas

Kaye and me are at Roel and Angie's place in McKinney, TX about 40 miles away from downtown Dallas.  We will be celebrating Christmas here.  The rest of the family will be here today.

It's much colder here than Austin and its raining. 

andy and ally

This is Alyssa (left) and Adrienne (right). This picture was taken last December 12 on Adrienne's 5th birthday. We all went to visit Mama and Papa on that day too. We miss them a lot.

102 at Shadow Glen Today

I played my first round of golf since September.  Wow, that was a long time since my last outing.  As expected, I had a ton of bad shots.  I kept looking up and messed up my game.  Well, what can you expect?  Golf needs a lot to practice.  I hit a couple of good shots too, I had an eagle opportunity at a short par 4 but 3-putted for a par.

I hope I can play a few more rounds before my vacation is over.

Breast Cancer Awaresness

Techniques for Monthly Self Breast Exams

In a time when cancer prevention is more important than ever before, women all over the world are doing everything they can to protect their health. Most gynecologists and the American Cancer Association recommend women do monthly self breast exams beginning at the age of 20, throughout the rest of their life.

Doctors suggest these exams because they say when women regularly examine the area, they become more aware of what’s normal and what’s new. Any changes (masses, lumps, appearance) are often easily detected by women who do monthly self breast exams. Detecting these changes is important, as changes can be early signs of cancer. It’s important to say, most of the time changes don’t necessarily mean you have cancer. But, all changes should be reported promptly to your doctor. When should you perform self breast exams? It’s a good idea to perform your self breast exams at the same time each month. Some women go through the routine the week after their period, when their breast area is not swollen or tender. Those who no longer have periods can set a date, such as the 1st of the month and do the examination every month on that particular date. How to do a self breast check: Step 1: Stand in front of a mirror (shirtless/braless) with your arms at your sides. Look at your chest to see if any changes should be noted. Then, stand with your hands on your hips and look for changes. Lastly, raise your arms and flex your chest muscles, looking for changes. Step 2: Check out the appearance of your breasts, looking for changes in contour, swelling, dimpling of the skin and the nipple. Most women don’t have “matching breasts” and will notice changes from one to the other. But, you will know what’s normal for you and what’s not. Step 3: Use the pads of your fingertips to firmly (no pain should occur) on your breast area. Check your entire breast and armpit. You can use a circular motion, an up-and-down motion or a wedge pattern motion. Whatever motion you choose, be sure to use the same one each month on both breasts. Use whichever one is easiest for you to remember. Step 4: Lay down and start with the right breast. Put a pillow under your right shoulder and place your right hand under your head. Do the same fingers motion and procedure on the breast again, which you did standing up. Repeat for the left breast, checking all tissue during the screening. Step 5: In a gentle way, squeeze each nipple and report any discharge which may occur immediately to your doctor. It’s important to see your doctor for exams each year and follow their recommendations on getting a mammogram to check the breast area and lymph node areas. Remember, even if you have a lump diagnosis, it’s likely it’s benign and rarely will turn out malignant.

Texas State Capitol

We went to the Texas State Capitol Building today. It was a very nice day. Temperatures were around 70F so it was perfect for a day out. We then had Mexican food then proceeded to the Pflugerville Animal Shelter. I'm pretty exhausted but its all worth it.  To see all the pictures of our visit to this location, please click this link:  http://www.smugmug.com/honeyandme/

5 Sneaky Ways the Holidays Can Mess With Your Skin

An Open Bar

If you've increased your cocktail consumption this season (how else can you get through the holiday office party?), your liver isn't the only thing that will suffer. According to Dr. Bank, excessive drinkingcan mess with your skin in a variety of unattractive ways, including:

Dullness: Excessive drinking leads to dehydration and depletes skin of vital nutrients, leaving you with a "blah" complexion.

Dryness: Alcohol zaps the body of vitaminA, an important anti-oxidant that is necessary for maintenance and repair of skin tissue. When vitamin A levels drop below normal, your skin will look dry and flaky.

Premature Aging: As mentioned above, increased alcohol intake can leave skin looking drier and less youthful. Plus, the loss of necessary vitamins and nutrients needed to maintain skin elasticity and vibrancy can lead to wrinkles and fine lines.

Rosacea: While not a cause, increased alcohol consumption, especially red wine, can trigger rosacea flare-ups in some people.

The Solution: Drink lots of water to counteract the dehydrating effects of alcohol. A good strategy is to have a glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you consume. You can also combat dry skin by being extra diligent about applying moisturizer.

At the Bishops' Residence

Are you working???

I've never seen a cat sit like this.

This is Snow Everest, their other cat. He is very cute too. Ever seen a white Garfield???

Dinner at Crawfish Shack

We had dinner at The Crawfish Shack last night. 6lbs of Crawfish and Blue Crabs with corn, mushrooms and sausages. I really hate seafood. I have to make sure that they are all ground into fine pieces in my tummy. I wish you guys are here to have some excellent cajun style seafood with us.

After dinner, we went to the Bishops' residence. Here's Len, Kaye and Lauren with Sweet Cherrie.

Len, Kaye with Sweet Cherrie, Mama and Papa caught on candid camera.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.....

Just wanted to share some pictures that I took yesterday. Here are some pictures of Kaye, George and me. We are having such a blast here in Pflugerville.

Beauty Tip of the Day!

Exfoliant Basics

For dry skin, exfoliating helps remove ashiness or buildup of dead skin cells that leave the complexion looking dull. For women with oily or acne-prone skin, exfoliation removes the excess dead skin that can clog pores and cause acne. Combination skin reaps double benefits. Those with sensitive skin need not be wary of exfoliants, but more on this below.

As with sunblocks, there are two types of exfoliants: physical and chemical. Physical exfoliants include anything from a washcloth with a slightly rough texture to a facial scrub, to a cream or lotion with tiny granules in the formula that help to remove excess dead skin. Both accomplish the same thing: They remove the dead cells from the top layer of skin. Washcloths are generally used while cleansing the face; facial scrubs can be used in addition to or in place of regular cleanser. Any type of exfoliation should be done gently. Never tug or pull at the skin or scrub roughly. As with cleansing, your skin should feel soft and pampered afterward, not rubbed raw. Exfoliating in this manner should be done up to three times a week. Doing it every day can be excessive and won't really make a difference in the appearance of your skin.

Chemical exfoliants come in the form of lotions or creams or toners that you apply to your face after cleansing. The ingredients in these exfoliants are usually some type of acid: alpha hydroxy (AHA) and beta hydroxy (BHA) acids are the most common. These acids work by gently sloughing off dead cells from the surface of the skin throughout the day. Some of the creams are gentle enough that you can apply them daily, but monitor your skin to see whether that is really necessary.

 One bonus of AHAs: In cream form-which tends to be slightly more moisturizing, depending on the skin type they are made for-its repairing properties work to minimize wrinkles by ultimately affecting the deeper layers of the skin. Since the top layer of excess skin cells are being removed, fresher, younger skin is being uncovered, diminishing the appearance of fine lines. Chemical exfoliants are not a cure for wrinkles-the best weapon against arrugas is and always will be sun protection-but many women who use them notice a nice "plumping" effect on the skin.

As with moisturizers and cleansers, the range of exfoliating creams has broadened beyond the targeted categories of oily, dry, or combination skin. There are exfoliating creams for the hands, undereye area, lips, body, and feet. When it comes to the face, the general rules outlined above are the most helpful: Stick to a formula that matches your skin type.

Sensitive skin types should incorporate exfoliation with a very gentle facial scrub or with a soft washcloth massage. Stay away from chemical exfoliants altogether.

Very long day today.....

Its quite a long day today.  We started out with shopping at the Round Rock Premium Outlets.  We were able to go to most ofthe stores and was able to go around the whole mall area.  Bought some Christmas presents.  Then we went to Thomas Buffet for lunch.  Kaye is craving for their tapioca pudding so it was a good idea to go there.  We had to wait for Papa and Romel to meet us there so while waiting we went to HobbyTown USA just beside the restaurant and I bought some nitro fuel and a fuel bottle.  I'm thinking of running my 1/8 scale gas buggy that I haven't run for more than a year.  I also wanted Kaye to take a shot at it.

After lunch, we went to Walmart to buy some stuff and then went home. 

As soon as we got home, I started looking for my other RC stuff to prepare my buggy for its run but I couldn't find my glow igniter so I guess I will have to pass by Hobby Town again and buy one.  Anyway, my batteries for the transmitter and receiver of the car are taking forever to charge because they needed to be cycled to regain their health as they haven't been used for quite a while.

I'll try to get the glow igniter tomorrow and maybe be able to run the car tomorrow.  Should be fun.  I'll post some pics later.

We just had dinner.  Len, Laird and Lauren were here and Mama cooked Tilapia.  It was awesome. 

We're in Pflugerville

I should have posted this yesterday but I was so tired so I pretty much just lazed around the house the whole day, watch TV and slept.

We got here at a little past 10AM CST.  The flight was nice and airport security was not really that bad (no pat downs).  The lines were long thoughbut thanks to Continental's Elite Access, we are able to skip some of the long lines except security.  Mama and Romel were on time picking us up and we were treated with a very good Filipino lunch, mostly vegetables harvested from the backyard garden.

We're going shopping today so I'll post something else later.

Beauty Tip of the Day!

If you have yet to discover the most potent secrets that will enhance your natural beauty, you are not alone. But beauty is an attribute that is difficult to define. No single formula, tips, procedures, or technique yields equally desirable results for everyone. The cosmetic advice offered in fashion magazines, within television segments, or on amateur blogs can therefore prove disappointing. Making yourself more beautiful is a life-changing, personal investment. 

The “secrets” of beauty are not as mysterious as they might seem. 

• Spray your face with cold water or stand with your head in the air from the freezer for a few moments to reduce redness.
• To avoid mascara flake-off or smudging on your face, apply a thin cost of mascara to top lashes only. Then run an eyelash brush through lashes to prevent clumpy mascara build-up.
• To enhance your summer shimmer add a touch of blush to enliven your cheeks and bring out your natural color. In order to find the perfect rosiness, take a look in the mirror right after a workout. The tinge of pink that spreads across your cheeks is the color that will work best for you.
• When choosing make-up, especially foundation and blush, focus on those that are water-based and non-comedogenic (non-pore clogging) is the best choice.
• Use petroleum jelly or cold cream to remove stubborn eye makeup. its cheap and it works (even on waterproof mascara).
• For sexy pout, to create a pout enhance center of upper and lower lip line with a darker shade or a lip liner.
• Eyeliner should be applied close to base of eyelashes to make them look thicker. A soft pencil is easier to manage.
• Make sure you remove all cosmetics with a mild cleanser and water before going to sleep.
• For your lips, stick with the glossy glow that bounces off the summer rays. It’s better to choose natural tones but if you want to add some color, apply lipstick on top of the gloss and your lips will look like sparkling diamonds.
• When you choose makeup, moisturizers and sunscreens make sure they are hypo-allergenic and fragrance-free.

We're on our way to Austin.  Waiting for our flight to board.  Man, those lines at airport security are unbelievable.  See you guys in Austin soon.

Change

I started working at Seeds of Change on November 22, 2010. It's an organic seed company that's currently based in Santa Fe, NM. They are moving their operations to Los Angeles in early 2011. So I work in Santa Fe during the week and spend my weekends in Tustin, CA.
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A couple of weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit their seed farm and drive their John Deere tractor. The farm is located about an hour north of Santa Fe.
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