I had Sumi in 2013, along with another lab, Tobie with the intentions of breeding them for profit. However, I had a change of heart after crush videos of dogs surfaced online. My conscience will never take it if one of their pups will go to these heartless people.

We had dogs but I never had a dog I can call my own. I never knew I would be deeply in love with them.

On December 2020, I noticed a huge bump near Sumi’s armpit and it was causing her pain. I brought her to the nearest clinic where the vet gave her antibiotics and because of her skin pattern, she advised me to take her to another clinic for hypothyroidism tests. I booked two roving doctors for a second opinion and third opinion. None of them mentioned cancer.

I brought her to the vet in January and had series of tests, including two frames of x-ray to rule out lots of things. The vet confirmed she has hypothyroidism but she has also water in her lungs, which is an indication that she has a weak heart. The bump is not cancer, the vet said. It’s a mismanaged wound. The fees were soaring high and I admit, I was not financially prepared. Even though I managed to withdraw all my freelancing earnings and bought all her medicines, I was still not prepared.

Sumi became weaker and weaker. She also started to ignore her food, which is rare for her. Even moving from one angle to another is also painful. Though I forced-fed her, I saw how her body became thinner and thinner.

Though she’s weak, she never gave me hard times — she will bark hysterically when she felt she need to pee or poo. I’ll carry her outside where she will just let her body fall and do her thing. Despite her weak body, she is still a very good girl. I don’t deserve her.

On January 30, I went out to buy coffee and cream. When I returned I heard her from outside barking super loud and she was obviously in pain. My father and sister also mentioned it to me. When I entred the room, she stopped barking and playfully wagged her tail. Obviously, she doesn’t want me to worry. I knew she’ll be out. I talked to her – I always do – asking her to give up. I told her that I, Tobie, and Janina (my cat) will be all right.

On January 31 at about 1:20 a.m., I saw on my peripheral vision that she was moving. I looked at her and she stood. She then used all her remaining strength to jump from my bed (her favorite sleeping place). I was not able to catch her. She was wagging her tail as I pick her. I thought she wanted to pee. So, I carried her out and let her do her thing. I took my old clothes, which I used to clean her after she’s done. When I looked at her, she was just staring at me, trying to balance herself. From the outside, she walked towards me and wagged her tail. I let her lick my face. I thought she was just thirsty so I went to my room to get her water bowl (she can still drink on her own). When I returned she was laying on the floor and staring blankly. I looked at her – she glanced at me and wagged her tail. Then her eyes started to move rapidly. She breathed heavily and started to shake frantically. She was obviously gasping for air. I bid her goodbye, thanked her for all the love, and apologized for my shortcomings.

She stopped breathing.

I carried her and wrapped her with my old blanket. That’s the time I cried. I didn’t show much emotions when I was taking care of her because I don’t want to upset her. I don’t want her to feel sad because she’s leaving.

The first 24 hours of her passing was hellish. I can’t help but blame myself. I should have worked harder in the past years because if I did, I might have my own car so I can bring her to the vet anytime (I only book home services for their checkups). If I had saved more, I might have attended to her needs. I always dreamed of bringing the two of them to the beach but I failed — it’s now just a dream.

Things are getting better now and I’m able to accept things. I still have Tobie and Janina. They are still my responsibilities. I also promised her that I’ll continue with my dreams of having an incorruptible animal rescue team. I am more motivated now.

Maybe, God allowed this to happen so I can realize my dreams and I shouldn’t give up. Though I’m still sad, I am continuing. I’ll cherish all the good things my Sumi girl gave me.

So long my Sumi girl — ’til we meet again.

The post Goodbye My Sumi Girl, Til We Meet Again appeared first on Food Citations.

Universally, vegetables are despised by children. So if you are sulking because your child doesn’t want to munch on the greenies, you are not alone.

There are lots of reasons why children hate vegetables. Here are some:

They Don’t Taste Good

Children have 10,000 tastebuds (infants have 30,000), which is quite more than your 5,000. Much more, children’s body replaces its tastebuds every two weeks.

Moreover, children’s olfactory system is much more advanced than adults. Such system also helps in recognizing tastes.

Surely, children taste food stronger than you.

Right after children came out of their mother’s womb, the first food they tasted is milk, which is sweet and creamy. As years go by they instinctively look for such sweetness. That’s why they don’t entertain bitter foods.

What You Eat is What They Eat

You are your children’s hero. What they see in you is shadowed because they think it’s right. So when you prefer hotdogs and burgers than carrots and broccoli, there’s a big tendency that they’ll prefer the same.

If you want them to eat healthily, show them.

Celebrities Endorse Unhealthy Food

In a fantasy world, celebrities encourage children to eat healthily. They do, sometimes. However, it’s not always the reality.

Taylor Swift, who reaches millions of young girls, endorses a known soda company while LeBron James, the idol of many boys, endorses a known fast-food chain. On my decades of existence, I never watched a television commercial featuring a celebrity endorsing green leafy vegetables.

Don’t Force, Punish, and Bargain

Promising “tastier” food in exchange for munching on veggies is never a good idea. According to Kids Health, bargaining with them will only create an impression that treats are more valuable than meal times.

Likewise, punishment for not eating their vegetables will never encourage the children to eat vegetables. This will create a culture of fear, which is also quite unhealthy.

Food Pairings

Ariun Ishdorj, Oral Capps Jr., Maureen Storey, and Peter S. Murano published research entitled Investigating the Relationship between Food Pairings and Plate Waste from Elementary School Lunches. They showed the importance of pairing vegetables with entrées.

It is noted that serving a less popular main course with a popular vegetable will result in kids eating vegetables. The research cited an example of pairing chicken nuggets to mashed potatoes will encourage kids to finish the side dish before proceeding with the nuggets.

Enjoy Your food

To encourage children, stating nutritional value is somehow unnecessary. They won’t understand it and most of the time, they don’t care. Just show them that eating vegetables is a fun and enjoyable experience.

Creating a positive family and peer pressure is effective. Kids Health noted that sleepovers must be used as an opportunity to serve vegetables. Eating together will also encourage happy moments where kids will force themselves to eat those greens.

Listen to Your Kids

Observing your children can give you the idea of when to serve vegetables. Taking notes of signs and cues when children are hungry will allow you to take advantage of the situation. A hungry child might eat vegetables.

Allowing them to choose whether to eat or not will also give you an idea about their hungry periods.

Trick the Kids

There are lots of recipes to make vegetables taste like meat. You can make your homemade hotdogs and add bits of carrots and radish. They won’t notice it.

Read: Kalabasa Ice Cream Recipe

I recall a psychologist mentioned in a TV show guesting that naming a dish on a cartoon character can give appeal to the dish. Efforts in making dishes beautiful will be appreciated. So, putting some smiley on the plate counts.

The post Why Kids Hate Vegetables? appeared first on Food Citations.

The archipelagic features of the Philippines paved a way to fabulous, raw and untroubled sceneries known to man. Dubbed as the “Pearl of the Orient Sea,” this country can name thousands of tourist attractions that can fill in the adventurist spirits of people from around the world.

Since this country is composed of islands, it is savored with beaches that can captivate the hearts and spirit. Beaches like those of Boracay and Palawan are known internationally. However, they are far from the metro.

For those who don’t know, there are also great white sand beaches that are near it. Pangasinan is a town that is home to such.

Villa Balinmanok is one of the hidden treasures of Dasol. The term “Balinmanok” came from the Filipino word “manok,” a Filipino word meaning chicken. According to the owners, the place was inhabited by wild fowls before their ancestors found the place.

How to Go to Villa Balinmanok?

I above-mentioned the word “hidden.” Please take it literally.

To go to this place, the best thing to do is to go to the more popular beach, which is the Tambobong. Then, ride a boat that will take you to Villa Balinmanok.

If you have your own vehicle, you can also reach it by land. I’m telling you, it’s a long, bumpy, but worthy ride.

From Manila, you should go to the Alaminos town proper. From there, take the short road to Mabini where the Burgos is and when you reached a Petron Gasoline station in Guiang take the opposite road. Then, just ask for locals the road that will take you to Villa Balinmanok cove. I suggest you contact the owners (contacts below) for clearer directions and they will also have someone to serve as a guide when you reached the Concordia Plaza.

The Beach and Nature

The Villa Balinmanok beach resort is highly recommended, especially when you have kids with you. The water is calm with little to no waves. It is shallow as well. “Crystal clear” is the best definition for me.

The place the beach and water are clean. The only things that you can see are the leaves that are falling from the trees. You can even see small fishes that are trying to go near your feet.

All the owners are seriously protecting the place even in a way that commercialized boats are prohibited from the area. They also build a sanctuary for small fishes, which is a wonderful place for shallow water snorkeling.

The giant rock formations are the reason why the place has calm waters. They also serve as a home for small fishes, that’s it’s also recommended for shallow water snorkeling. The marine life there is sublime. It’s not recommended to climb them because they feature sharp edges.

The sand is not as fine as those of Boracay. However, there are no small rocks and pebbles that can hurt your feet while taking a bath in the shallow waters.

There’s no pollution at all. The place also features a forest where you can also venture.

Overall, the place is serene.

The Preserved Shipwreck

On the right side (facing the beach) is a narrow path that will bring you to another beachfront lot. A few meters from the beach is a shipwreck that is preserved for tourist attraction.

According to the owners, the ship was a Chinese cargo vessel that carries about 600 kilograms of illegal substances. That time, it’s a storm and the officials of the ship accidentally dropped the anchor. The ship was damaged prompting the crew to abandon.

Read: Labrador Stall: The Sidewalk for Freshly-Caught Seafood

I and my cousins swam to that area and to be honest, it’s disappointing. There is no marine life thriving there.

Personnel Services

The owners and personnel of Villa Balinmanok are very accommodating. One of the owners, Mr. Ogie welcomed us when we arrived. During our stay, he used to visit us in our cottage, to have a little chit chat and to know if we needed something. By the time we’re about to go home, he even bid us goodbye and thanked us for visiting their place. After a few hours, we received a message from him asking us if we got home safe and hoped that we will be back.

The crews are always ready to serve. They are willing to help even to the smallest things like chopping the onions for our meal. When we went for island hopping, we asked them to cook our foods and when we’re back our meals are ready.

All the crews are always smiling, which made us comfortable and at home. One of the little boy, which I suppose the son of one of the crews played with me and hugged me before we went home.

In terms of the personnel services and friendliness, I will give them 98%.

Conclusion

All of us have our own definition of vacation. Some wanted it loud with lots of people bumping each other while some wanted to meet new friends on the beach.

But for me, a vacation is the other way around. My definition of vacation is relaxing in front of the beach with my family. I want it peaceful and stay away from too many people, noise, and pollution. I’m not anti-social, but I prefer a resort that has 2-3 groups sharing the beach because I want my vacation-worthy so I can release the tension brought by the urban life. That’s why Villa Balinmanok is best for me.

This is also best for kids because the water is shallow and calm. You will not be worrying that kids will be taken away by the waves. They can also play with the sand.

If you’ll ask me, am I going to go back to this place? I’ll answer yes. This article is not paid, and I just did this as I want to tell the world how beautiful the Philippines is.

The Villa Balinmanok rates are ok. They are actually lower than the more popular beaches in Pangasinan.

For people who wanted to visit Villa Balinmanok, you can contact the owners through the following details:

Cellphone numbers: 09152092010 | 09084551047 (look for Ogie Belarma).

The post Villa Balinmanok – The Hidden Treasure of Pangasinan appeared first on Food Citations.

It showed a kid, who happened to be a trained fighter, bullying a bigger kid. Later, he overpowered him and worse, injuring him.

I chose not to share the video not because the culprit is a minor but because I wanted to preserve the dignity of the victim, who, in fact, is being blamed. Yes, I used to see victim blamers in the comment section.

To that victim, I didn’t know your name, but I adore you… I adore your courage and your audacity not to be in that humiliation game despite threats of being harmed.

You were asked “bugbog o dignidad” with the bully explaining that if you chose dignity, you will have to kneel and kiss his shoes and private part. You chose the former.

I assume that you know that your attacker is a black belter and he had his chuwariwaps. You knew he is strong and you are outnumbered but you still tried to defend yourself. I saw you lifting your fists and anytime will counter-attack but the bully simply overpowered you.

During the end of the video, the bully landed a powerful punch on your face and obviously, you were stunned. You bled and in pain while you went to the corner, feeling humiliated and stepped on.

Let me tell you this — you were not humiliated. Actually, it’s the other way around. The bully reacted that way because unlike what he wanted you to do you chose not to surrender your dignity. It turned out that he chose the wrong boy.

As a victim of bullying myself, this may take a toll on you. You may have trust issues; but I’m hoping you won’t. Please keep in mind that many people, like me, have focused their attention not on the bully but to the kid who braved the odds. For us, you ended up dignified and dignity is pure. No physical harm can take it.

Keep on fighting not just the bullies but life as well. Not the bullies and the netizens who will help you to be on top. It’s yourself only.

God Bless you!

The post To that Victim in the Viral Bullying Video: I Adore You appeared first on Food Citations.

I started this blog in 2012 and had fun doing it. However, I admit, because of a booming business I somehow, but not completely, neglected it. I constantly changed my passwords and updated it at least twice a month.

One day, I just found out that my websites, including Foodcitations.com, were hacked. So, I tried contacting my hosting company. Much to my expectations, they said that it’s because of a weak password, to which I don’t believe because I use a combination of special characters and former cell phone number for them (no one will remember my cell phone number in college). It also frustrated me because instead of guiding me, they offered me a paid service.

I hired a third party to clean up my account. But, my bill kept on pounding me so I decided to just close all my websites and start from scratch. I also wanted to stay away from the disappointment, frustrations, and stress.

Now, after two months, I’m back! I plan to update this website at least three times a week. I will also be reposting some of my favorite recipes.

The post Food Citations, a reintroduction appeared first on Food Citations.