Sweet moments with Ms. B

Get this!
Do you realize that the only time in our lives when we like to get old is when we're kids?

If you're less than 10 years old, you're so excited about aging that you think in fractions.
"How old are you?" "I'm four and a half!" You're never thirty-six and a half. You're four and a half, going on five!

That's the key.

You get into your teens, now they can't hold you back. You jump to the next number, or even a few ahead.

"How old are you?" "I'm gonna be 16!" You could be 13, but hey, you're gonna be 16! And then the greatest day of your life . . . you become 21. Even the words sound like a ceremony . YOU BECOME 21 YESSSS !!!

But then you turn 30. Oooohh, what happened there? Makes you sound like bad milk. He TURNED; we had to throw him out. There's no fun now, you're Just a sour-dumpling.

What's wrong? What's changed?You BECOME 21, you TURN 30, then you're PUSHING 40.Whoa! Put on the brakes, it's all slipping away. Before you know it, you REACH 50 . . and your dreams are gone.

But wait!!! You MAKE it to 60. You didn't think you would!

So you BECOME 21, TURN 30, PUSH 40, REACH 50 and MAKE it to 60.You've built up so much speed that you HIT 70!

After that it's a day-by-day thing;
you HIT Wednesday!

You get into your 80s and every day is a complete cycle;
you HIT lunch; you TURN 4:30; you REACH bedtime.And it doesn't end there.

Into the 90s, you start going backwards; "I Was JUST 92."

Then a strange thing happens. If you make it over 100, you become a little kid again. "I'm 100 and a half!"

May you all make it to a healthy 100 and a half!!

HOW TO STAY YOUNG:
1.Throw out nonessential numbers. This includes age, weight and height. Let the doctors worry about them. That is why you pay "them"

2. Keep only cheerful friends. The grouches pull you down.

3. Keep learning. Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever. Never let the brain idle. " An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

4. Enjoy the simple things.

5. Laugh often, long and loud. Laugh until you gasp for breath.

6. The tears happen. Endure, grieve, and move on. The only person who is with us our entire life, is ourselves. Be ALIVE while you are alive.

7. Surround yourself with what you love, Whether it's family, pets, keepsakes, music, plants, hobbies, whatever. Your home is your refuge.

8. Cherish your health: If it is good, preserve it. If it is unstable, improve it. If it is beyond what you can improve, get help.

9. Don't take guilt trips. Take a trip to the mall, even to the next county; to a foreign country but NOT to where the guilt is.

10. Tell the people you love that you love them, at every opportunity.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away. (thanks Robbie)

Do you believe in boys... after love?
(Thanks Fred)

Now... Today!

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February 21, 2005

Thoughts
For my son Byron Joseph

I thought of you today

the same thought that haunts me

since I first met you

you were so naive then

you have that great smile

whom everyone loves!

Maybe you are an Angel from up there

to console us down here

to give love and affection

but love only meant for:

a dear brother

a sweet sister

or even for a mother . . .

you are so near yet so far

far enough I couldn't touch you

so far I could not even kiss you

but in spite of these obstacles

I am happy

happy to know you are always here

for me!

(entry # 1 http://www.Poetry.com)
Copyright ©2005 Agnes Razyneth Montebon Amores

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Live! - not just exist...

Copyright ©2005 Agnes Razyneth Montebon Amores

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For You

My dearest...

Let me say these two powerful words forever!

For they are not mere letters

They are my emotions...

Let me love you like this my way, because...

You are one beautiful creation

To deserve such wonderful feelings

I trust that you keep it in you

With utmost care...

And when i am old

And you are around

May you be near me

Beside my death bed.

Copyright ©2003 Agnes Razyneth Montebon Amores

( entry # 2 - http://www.Poetry.com)

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A remorseful soul…

I am sorry
So sorry I ruined your day
Sorry for my style of not telling you everything
I regret it deeply. I was a fool then… that I know now.

I should not have messed up with you
It was so wrong of me. I deserve to be punished
Erased
Wiped out
Buried.

But before you do please let me tell you
How much I love you!

I simply care for you
Want to be with you
Likes to share with you
All that I have…

And still if it isn’t enough
You can take away my soul
Burn it in hell
and let it fade away for good.

but I would still be sorry
…eternally.

***********************************

Morning Dew

As the shadows of dawn

Softly creeps through December fog

Giving way to early morning sunrise

Filled with the promise of brighter days!


So does this heartfelt gesture

Of Love and affection

Poured unto you

This very moment and onwards.

This is one of the poems i've created with feelings so intense it made me cry sometimes... but makes me smile most of the time.

Let me touch you today

With my thoughts

And may you feel

The extra beat of LOVE

My heart murmured…


Bet
April 13, 2002 - morning

Whatever, whenever or however food is taken, it is undoubtedly an essential part of our life or anyone's, for that matter. What then is food’s historical behind and how did it affect us all before? What is food’s role now in our society?

Part I - Food story

Prehistoric Times - I learned as i searched through books and other reading materials that in the early years of man’s existence, people ate anything they could find whether plants, fruits, mushroom, root crops, nuts and even edible seeds. They hunt for wild animals too through the wild forest and sometimes ate the beasts straight up right after killing them. Their ways and norms on those times were kind of rudimentary because in those early days they don’t have the knowledge yet of cooking food . They even ate the meat of dead animals that they find while hunting. It was not until they discovered how to make fire themselves when they roast, boil or stew their food and also when they knew the art of making pots.

Some early tools used for food hunting

As my research led me to more intriguing facts, it was during 8000 B.C. when people started to cultivate plants and raised animals for their food needs. It was then when a method of food production -farming- came to be. It helped much in providing a more consistent food supply at that time. Hunting was no longer the ultimate tool to acquire food anymore due to the fact that the people need not roamed around or moved further in order to get food. Farming made them stay a while longer in one place while they sow their crops and harvested them. A group of people once called the ‘nomadic shepherds’ traveled from one place to another while they brought along their raised animals on the road which consisted of camels, goats, and flocks of sheep thereby fulfilling their need for milk and meat as their main diet.

On the Ancient period:
In these times as i scanned a little more the pages of history books, between 3500 and 1500 B.C. the civilizations managed to have their valleys and riverbanks developed, which had fertile soil and favorable climate thus helping the early farmers to produce rich foods abundantly. More so it was said in those areas along the Nile River, i learned that they grew more than two crops every year on the same fields. I can say food indeed was already a very precious commodity even during the times of the Greeks. Many ancient Philosophers then were said to be interested in the kind of food they ate. As Hippocrates stressed out that: three categories of nutriments required for life: Solids, Beverages and air. Health, he explained, was the state of balance of elements and humors whereas disease represented imbalance .

A rather interesting theory about food and its effects transpired in the Eastern part of the globe particularly China. As commonly known, the Chinese followed an age-old system of belief and philosophies, which were handed down from generations thousand of years ago for their existence with that of the ‘Yin- Yang” Philosophy. It was told then by their great Philosopher, K’ung Fu-tzu (Confucius) on proper diet. Let me qoute it here: “Do not… eat your fill of polished rice, nor finely minced meat; eat not rice that has gone sour, or fish and meat that has spoiled…Do not eat except at proper times… never drink wine to the point of becoming confused…never consume wine or dried meat brought from a shop.” I can't fully explain the reason behind this last part. Anyway, in the later years of toil, the Greeks as well as the Romans were not able to supply food enough for their fellow country men which grew unprecedentedly in big numbers, so what they did was worked a feasible plan to elevate the adequacy of food supply by importing food from other neighboring countries in large quantities even doing rude deeds resulting into the taking over of wide land areas which had ample food supplies across Europe. That was the time when the Roman Empire subjugated Persia - now Iran- for fruits and gone farther more to the Orient like China and Japan for their spices, and even traversed the vast deserts of Egypt just to acquire their most important basic diet, which is wheat.

In the Middle Ages
Through the course of time, Food remained a great need. By this time, there were many wars to be fought and more lands to conquer. Most of the properties in Europe were now fought through feudal force. Then the Roman Empire fell (400’s A.D.) and their trading with the international market went down to a very low mark. By this time almost all of the land areas were divided into manors- the term used to a large property with the ‘Lord’ as head and the workers were called peasants. Each manor supplied food enough for the entire community, including the clergy or Church leaders.

When the other wars have to be fought, the troops conquered more lands extending to the Middle East, and fought the holy ward called the Crusades or the war with religious objective especially with the intention of freeing the Holy Land. These crusaders got a taste of new herbs and spices which made their mouth water and in turn intensified their craving for exploring more new lands helping a great deal in the renewed international trade industry which were now flourishing. High Middle Ages as it was called then, the economy was recovering; European trade went to a high blossom. The great entrepreneurs called merchants exchanged goods at great international trade fairs. They brought forth not only goods but also great ideas about new methods of farming, told stories of new industries and exchanged views on special events taking place in that part of Europe and in the rest of the world.

These Modern times
When most of the colonization and conquest were rising, Spain and Portugal took the lead in search for more food spices and eventually landed on a vast land mass on the other side of the globe, which they called America (Western Hemisphere) or the New World. These were the “Voyages of Discovery” years. They conquered the Americas (North, Central and South). It was the dawn of Industrialization. Huge structures were built and massive use of iron was establised as the prime hot item. There were no spices found but nevertheless, new food species were being introduced by the American Indians or the natives of America. These foods include avocados, chocolates, corn, peanuts, peppers, pineapples, sweet and white potatoes, squashes and tomatoes.

Presently, quite a few varieties of foods are now available. The Americans have their breakfast cereals from barely, corn, millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum and the very important wheat; France have their rich and elaborate dishes; the famous pizza, spaghetti and macaroni of the Italians; the pancakes and pastries of the Belgians; the frankfurters or fondly called sausages and the famous hamburgers of the Germans; the shish-kebab or cubes of lamb, tomatoes, peppers, and onions roasted on a spike-like skewer of the Middle East countries; the hundred-year-old eggs and won-ton which is a kind of dumpling of the Chinese; the sashimi or thin slices of raw food; tofu or soybean curd of the Japanese; the curry or stew-like dish of eggs, fish, meat, or vegetables and cooked in a spicy sauce of the Southeast Asians; Scandinavian’s herring or fish food with cheese and bread; Mexican’s famous tortillas or flat corn-meal breads; Southern Europe’s pretzels and least not forget, England’s sandwiches, roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or a batter pudding baked in beef juices. Yummy!

On the other hand in the local scene, food had quite a story to tell...

History of Filipino Foods in Philippine Setting There is no specific written account on when Filipinos established our own local taste of food. Over 300 years ago, even long before the Spaniards landed on our shores, we were on a system of rowing out to the deep sea in petite boats or bancas, toiling the rugged hillside rice paddies, planting vegetables and fruits out in the fields, and managed to hunt for wild boars deep into the virgin forests. Land and sea were amply supplying nutritiously rich resources and natural wonders. The Filipinos were into boiling or broiling and roasting their food in open fire. Anything that comes in handy when it comes to food was welcomed specially the freshly jerking prawns of the brackish sea and any other seafood stuff they can find. The freshest of fish was made into Kinilaw “cooked” by immersion in vinegar and salt with ginger, onions and red peppers.

However, a certain statement declared that early Filipinos actually cooked food to a minimal point by roasting and steaming only. But with some exceptions too, other Filipino consumers showed some distinct preference for the sour and salty flavored ones like the famous Sinigang- a lightly boiled fish in a sour stock with vegetables and fish sauce. Where these flavors came from varies not only from vinegar or salt but also from fruits which were not ripe enough and were picked like our very own Tamarind, mango and even guava which when extracted gives out a very sour taste. The same thing goes with the Kalamansi -a tiny citrus specie - a breed halfway between an orange and a lime. Still there is one food source which contains salty powers- our bagoong or shrimp paste. These flavors, though pungent in odor, are typically Filipino.

When international or foreign trade improved, various Asian groups of people visited our country. They were the Malaysians, Indonesians, Arabians, Indians and not the least, the Chinese who brought over all sorts of spices and settled their families here, thereby handing down cooking methods which helped much of the natives’ local knowledge of food preparations.

Part 2 - PART II- Global intrests on Food Influences

Global Interests on Food Influences