Pancit, which I pronounce as pawn-sit , is a Filipino noodle dish. Until I was an adult, I thought pancit was made only with translucent mung bean noodles. Then I learned that many Filipinos make pancit with rice noodles or wheat noodles. It was a rude awakening for me. Still, to this day, I make pancit with clear mung bean noodles, the way the mama showed me. Always will. Preparing pancit isn't difficult, just labor intensive, especially if you want to add a variety of vegetables to it.  While growing up, the mama cooked pancit for parties or other special occasions. After I got married, the mama would make a huge pot full of pancit so that I could take leftovers home to stick in my freezer.  Now that the husband and I are living with the mama, I like to make pancit for her now and then. Like all my recipes, many of the ingredients vary each time I prepare pancit. The ingredient that stays the same is mung bean noodles. You can find it at any Asian market or at the Asian section i

New Mexico Clouds Three autumns ago, the husband and I traveled through New Mexico. One of things that awed me were the fat, fluffy clouds that danced across the long expanse of deep blue sky. I hadn't seen these kinds of clouds since I was a kid  500 years ago. I don't know if it's because, as an adult, I was living in the foggy and (when the fog burned off) smoggy Bay Area. Still, there were no clouds to speak when the husband and I moved to my hometown, away from the fog but not the smog. When I saw the clouds in New Mexico, I didn't know how much I missed the sight of them. Since the trip, we have been seeing New Mexico clouds moving across the sky, especially when the area is about to get a good rain, or after one. I like to think the clouds followed us back home. Do you see that terrier laying on his back? Clouds kissing?   Anyone else see a skull up there?

I'm not much of a joiner. Then something happens. Maybe the wind changes direction, or perhaps I blink and a lapse in judgment occurs, and I do hop on a bandwagon. Like now. I registered myself for a blogathon—a marathon of blog posting, that is. Every day in May, I'll be posting something because I signed up for the 2010 WordCount Blogathon. This is an annual thing put on by Michelle Rafter, the owner of WordCount, a blog about digital freelancing. She started the blogathon as a way to motivate herself to "post consistently" and to do it with company. To read more about the 2010 WordCount Blogathon, check out this link . So, here I am with my first post. Can I think up something to post everyday for the next 30 days?  Will I miss a day or two because I've forgotten? Shall my slacker self balk at the discipline? Stay tuned.

Last Friday was the husband's and my fourth "23rd" date this year. Recap: Last Christmas, the husband and I gave ourselves a day each month to run away from everything.  We don't do much planning for the date other then determine our destination point the night before so we can tell the mama. We get up the next morning and take off. It's nice being spontaneous at least once a month. I  feel like we're courting each other again on these 23rd dates. This month's destination was Año Nuevo State Reserve on the coast to see the elephant seals. It's about 20 miles north of Santa Cruz. Since the 1970s, elephant seals go the  reserve's shore every winter to give birth to their babies. Once the cutie-pies are weaned, the adults swim off leaving the kids which wait until they have strength to take off. During the spring and summer, the elephant seals come back to Año Nuevo to molt. Last Friday, we saw both pups and molting adults laying about on the beache

I bought a 2010 calendar last year. I don't know where it is. I only care now because I have work assignments for different clients that I need to keep tabs on. Don't worry clients, if you happen to be reading this. I know my deadline for each of you. Some moments, I just feel anal-retentive and wish to have a calendar that's not on my computer (as if I look at that one) but strewn on top of a noteworthy pile on my desk. That's just how I operate.