Meet Pumpkin! We brought her home June 29th, 2012. She is a beige berkshire. She fits right in my hand at the moment, she's so tiny. She's extremely brave and playful for a baby rat. She met some of her sisters on the bed, (they are all 3x's her size at the moment, lol) and she was chasing them all around the bed. :-)


 

We had an awful heat wave for a few days this week. The temps were in the upper 90's but it felt even hotter than that (104, 110!) Not fun.


I haven't been up to much besides working, etc. Tomorrow we are taking my Dad out for a belated Father's Day Lunch to Longhorn Steak House.

I'm still using Sally Hansen Salon Effects. I love them. They always last about 2 weeks with a clear coat on top of them. They start to grow out and chip by the 3rd week. There were a few from the new Avril Lavigne collection I really wanted, but had a hard time tracking down. I ended up getting them on eBay.

My favorites from that collection: 'You're A Star',


And 'Crowd Surfer', which is what I have on my nails right now!

My Mom makes a version of this with broccoli, carrots and sometimes cheese tortellini. You can pretty much add whatever ingredients you want. It's a great dish for a hot summer day. It tastes even better once it sits overnight.

Easy Summer Pasta:

• 1 box Tri-color pasta, cooked and drained.
• 1 small package of inexpensive ham lunch meat, sliced into cubes. 
• 1-2 cups cubed cheese. I used colby & extra sharp white. (I bought the bricks & cubed the cheese myself).
• 1 container of baby tomatoes. (I always halve my baby tomatoes).
• 1 small onion, diced.
• 1 can of mushrooms, drained.
• 1 small bottle of Italian Dressing.
• Parmesan cheese in a jar. 
• Salt & Pepper to taste.

Directions:

After combining all of your ingredients in a large bowl, coat pasta salad with a small bottle of Italian dressing. (As much or as little as you like. If it sits in the fridge overnight the pasta absorbs the dressing, so you may need more dressing before serving). Shake a good amount of Parmesan cheese on top of the salad and a few dashes of salt & pepper. Stir until everything is coated. Serve cold. Makes enough for leftovers.

I hate the original Croc's. I think they are so ugly! My Dad bought a pair of knock off Croc's and he wears them in public, lol. In the Philippines when my husband and I would walk past the Croc's store I would cringe.

But.... lately, I've been having some foot issues. My left heel has been bothering me for awhile. I have really high arches and I think it may be plantar fasciitis. I also get a lot of charley horse cramps in my calves. I do a lot of walking with commuting to work and this year with these new aches & pains my Havaiana's flip flops just aren't doing it. And I cannot wear sneakers or shoes in warm weather, I just can't!

So I looked online and did a little research and discovered... Croc's has some really cute style's now. They even sell high heels! All of the reviews say their shoes are really comfortable. So I gave in and went to the Croc's side. I ordered the Adrina Flip Flop. In Aqua/Celery. I got them on Zappos.com.


I've been wearing them for almost a month and they are so comfortable. Plus I love the tread on the bottom of them, it's more like sneaker tread. I've noticed the pain in my left heel has decreased significantly even though it hasn't disappeared.


I just ordered another pair of the Adrina Flip flops on Amazon.com today. I got the Magenta/Purple ones. Can't wait to get them, I really do love them!


(I do use Amazon Associates, but not because I've made any money- because I haven't! lol! But I like that I can show a picture/link with a product when I'm blogging. Plus I do recommend Amazon.com for their low prices. That or Ebay!)  


 

My brother has reviewed a few Philippine food products I've given him on YouTube! :-)

Chocnut:


Salted Duck Eggs:




Phil-Am Foods

Philippine Snack Foods

Foreign Food Cravings

Taste Testing (Asian Aisle)