Casa Hernandez

CLOUDY WITH THE CHANCE OF MEATBALLS COMING IN SEPTEMBER!

casahernandez — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 10:28:03 +0000

Release Date: September 18, 2009 (conventional theaters & 3D IMAX in US)

Studio: Columbia Pictures (Sony), Sony Pictures Animation
Director: Chris Miller, Phil Lord
Screenwriter: Chris Miller, Phil Lord
Starring: Bill Hader, Anna Faris, James Caan, Bruce Campbell, Andy Samberg, Mr. T, Tracy Morgan
Genre: Animation, Comedy
MPAA Rating: Not Available
Official Website: CloudywithaChanceofMeatballs.com
Review: Not Available
DVD Review: Not Available
DVD: Not Available
Movie Poster: One-Sheet | Teaser
Production Stills: View here

Plot Summary: In 2009, Columbia Pictures’ and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” will be the most delicious event since macaroni met cheese. Inspired by the beloved children’s book, the film focuses on a town where food falls from the sky like rain.

Reference: comingsoon.net

SPEAK BLESSINGS OVER YOUR FAMILY

casahernandez — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 05:09:42 +0000

We are blessed to have spiritual parents who literally and figuratively guided us through the years. I remember that from Day 1 of being engaged until this day, our spiritual parents have been one of our inspiration, encourager, and role model about marriage life, finances & parenting, among other things. We were also fortunate to be their neighbors for about 3 years and witnessed how they lived their lives up close and personal.

One of the things they “walk the talk” was how to bless our children. MY husband and I figured out that there will be no harm in trying. So we did. Every morning, at an early age of 6 months, we would speak a prayer of blessing over his life; that he would grow up to be the man God wants him to be. Since I am a competitive mother, I would even add that he will be smart and talented.

Our son grew started reading before the age of two, won a junior golf tournament at the age of 7, breezed through school with high grades, joined an outreach when he was 11, and is currently involved in sports and music. He is also one of the Kids’ Church worship leaders in our local church.

I can go on and on but I think you get the picture now.

This morning, I smiled when I read an email from my MIL (mom-in-law) a copy of her friend’s subscription from New Creation (Singapore). Thirteen years of of speaking blessings over our children, our marriage, our business have proven to be a very powerful and effective shield for our family.

Psalm 5:12
12For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor You will surround him as with a shield.

What do you believe and say to your loved ones every day? For orthodox Jews, on Friday evenings in their homes, the father lays his hands on his children and pronounces God’s blessings over them. No wonder Jewish children grow up to be winners in the fight of life! They become some of the world’s greatest inventors, bankers, musicians and entertainers. Although a minority race, the Jews have produced the most number of Nobel Prize winners. I believe that it is because they bless their children in the same way the patriarchs of the Old Testament did. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob released God’s blessings upon their children by laying hands on them and speaking forth the blessings. (Genesis 27:27–29, 38–40; 48:14–16)

In the New Testament, the apostles pronounced blessings over the churches they were preaching to. To the church in Philippi, Paul declared, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) John released a powerful blessing upon Gaius when he said, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” (3 John 1:2)
Even Jesus pronounced a blessing of deliverance on the daughter of the Syro-Phoenician woman — “go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter”. (Mark 7:29) This was a blessing of deliverance by proxy. The woman took it by faith and found that her daughter was well when she reached home. (Mark 7:30) Likewise, the centurion took the blessing by faith and healing came upon his servant back home. (Matthew 8:8–13) The parents of a little girl did the same thing while worshiping in our church. Their daughter was in hospital in the final stages of cancer. When I pronounced the blessing of healing that Sunday, they received it and pronounced it over their daughter. She was soon discharged from the hospital healed!

My friend, bless your loved ones. Declare over them, “The Lord blesses you and surrounds you with His favor as with a shield.” Speak forth your own blessings by declaring, “Thank You Lord, You prosper me and I am in excellent health!”

LIVE WELL, LIVE WISELY, LIVE HUMBLY

casahernandez — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:51:47 +0000

My son turned 13 today. I was praying this morning, “Lord, help me become a better parent, a better spouse, a better friend, a better person today and the rest of my life. I know that I have a long way to go and that I can’t do this overnight. Where do I start?” As I looked for my reading for the day, there I found God’s answer.

I have been reading the Book of James for the past 2 weeks. Do not be impressed. This book is one of the, if not the shortest, books in the Bible. But sometimes, God wants me to slow down my pace, especially if he wants me to pay special attention to something. This is one of those moments.

Here is a copy of my reading and I hope this blesses you today as it did bless me this morning.

Live Well, Live Wisely

^13-16Do you want to be counted wise, to build a reputation for wisdom? Here’s what you do: Live well, live wisely, live humbly. It’s the way you live, not the way you talk, that counts. Mean-spirited ambition isn’t wisdom. Boasting that you are wise isn’t wisdom. Twisting the truth to make yourselves sound wise isn’t wisdom. It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving. Whenever you’re trying to look better than others or get the better of others, things fall apart and everyone ends up at the others’ throats.

^17-18Real wisdom, God’s wisdom, begins with a holy life and is characterized by getting along with others. It is gentle and reasonable, overflowing with mercy and blessings, not hot one day and cold the next, not two-faced. You can develop a healthy, robust community that lives right with God and enjoy its results only if you do the hard work of getting along with each other, treating each other with dignity and honor.

The Message, James 3:13-18

CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS

casahernandez — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 17:15:56 +0000

Last week, I asked my husband and our son, “What do you call the person who studies the stars?” To my surprise, both had blank faces followed by mumbling sounds. Before I could ask our 5-year old daughter the same question, she confidently answered, “Meteorologist.” In unison, the three of us cheered and clapped as if we were watching Le Tour de France. She explained that they were studying about weather and proceeded to even explain to us the different types of clouds. She also told us that their class is reading a book entitled, “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs”. Well, that’s a very interesting title!

This morning, I got so excited when I chanced upon the official site of “Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, The Movie”. I am so excited that even if I can’t do my movie review yet, I want to be the first in the Philippines to feature this upcoming blockbuster movie from Sony Pictures.

I will write some more about this very interesting book/movie soon. For now, check out the trailer. Enjoy!

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

casahernandez — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 03:27:42 +0000

What’s in a name?

When our children whine and try their best to convince us to agree with them when they know we won’t, we usually say, “Sorry, you can’t.” Most of the time, they accept our replies and even apologize for being “pushy”.

The rare occasions they try to be extraordinarily persistent, they get our checkmate move with a smile: “Because you are a Hernandez.”

WE BID TIENDESITAS, GOOD-BUY

casahernandez — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:14:42 +0000

Last Sunday, we went to Tiendesitas to “just look around” and accompany my Cebuano brother-in-law, who was in town just for the weekend. Four months ago, Tiendesitas replaced our weekend bazaars. In March, we bought Kobe, a hyperactive, compact-sized, black & white shih tzu. The following week, my mom-in-law (MIL) bought Maxine, a princess-type shih tzu. Week after that, our Aunt bought another princess-type shih tzu, while my sis-in-law (SIL) bought a new chihuahua. Every time we go to Tiendesitas, we would end up bringing home at least one new puppy.

As the saying goes, the rest is history. Our family now owns 11 new puppies. That’s just between then til last Sunday.

Everything happened as planned. We visited our favorite pet shops, bought some dog food & treats, bought some dog accessories, checked out the expensive dogs for sale, and of course, we also checked out the expensive dogs who were walking around while waiting for their turn to be groomed. We sat on our favorite seat where I found myself watching this man who was carrying his beautiful shiny, black, curly-haired poodle.

It was almost 6pm and I rounded up everybody to say goodbye when I saw my grinning husband with his index finger on his lips. “I have a secret. I will show you something!” Like a 5-year old kid, he pulled me to the parking lot and introduced me to this lady who was selling us two puppies. He saw my face brighten up when I saw the black one.

I am sure you have heard the cliche, “What have I done? Everything happened so fast!” This is exactly what happened. We went home with big smiles on our faces and a beautiful shiny, black, curly-haired puppy. The moment our kids saw it, they screamed and jumped with so much joy.

We are still thinking of a name for our new toy poodle, but for now, I have decided that we would never, ever, go back to Tiendesitas anytime soon. I really cannot go back there anymore. It is VERY dangerous.

For now, the puppy count has gone up to 12. Well, wait til Sunday.

PESANG ISDA

casahernandez — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 06:25:31 +0000

I was inspired by an online recipe and successfully cooked my first “Pesang Isda”, a simple yet 3-in-1* fish soup dish that’s perfect for a stormy day. I used Maya-Maya and added more ginger than specified. Serve with brown rice to compensate the amount you will eat, especially if you end up serving it with the miso preparation as side dish. Mapapakain ka talaga sa sarap! Try it!

Here’s my version of the original recipe:

Ingredients

1 kilo of Maya-Maya, Lapu-Lapu, Dalag (or any white fish of your choice)

1 bunch of pechay (pei tsai or bok choy)

1/4 cabbage

2 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

12 peppercorns

1/2 clove of garlic, crushed and peeled

2 small or 1 large red onion, quartered

patis

cooking oil

8-10 cups of rice wash or water

Procedure

1. Heat cooking oil. Over medium-high heat, saute crushed garlic and ginger until they start to brown.

2. Add onion. Cook until onion turns transparent.

3. Pour rice wash or water.

4. Add peppercorns then bring to a rolling boil.

5. Season with patis.

6. Add fish and bring to a boil once more.

7. Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes (depends on how big your fish pieces are). Do not overcook the fish. (This is my common mistake!) Fish is normally cooked when the flesh turns opaque.

8. Place pechay leaves & cabbage on top. Cover and turn off heat after 3-5 minutes. The veggies should be done in 5 minutes.

And now, the killer side dish –The Miso Sauce :

1 cup of miso

1 tsp. of garlic, minced

1 onion, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 tsp. of cooking oil

1/2 to 3/4 cup of fish stock (from the cooked pesa)

patis (salted fish sauce) or, again, salt if you don’t like the smell of patis

Heat oil in a small saucepan. Saute garlic, onion and tomato. Add miso and fish stock. Season with patis or salt. Cook over low heat for 1-2 minutes. Serve with pesa.

* a yummy, filling & healing food

HOW TO GET A NEW JOB

casahernandez — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:59:15 +0000

I used to homeschool our two kids and now that both are in regular school, I enrolled last month in a 3-month course in Asian Institute of Management (AIM). Just twice per week, the sessions are conveniently scheduled from 6-9pm. Perfect!

Over lunch today, my husband giggly shared with me, “Do you know what your daughter did today? She called me up in the office and asked if she can talk to you, so I explained to her that you were in your new school. She gasped and replied, “Why is she back in school? Does she need that to get a new job?”

Photo by Magnifique

A BLESSED LIFE

casahernandez — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:39:53 +0000

“The family that prays together, stays together.”

I saw a billboard with the above mentioned quotation in the 80s. This billboard ad’s message will never go out of style.

When we pray, God’s grace abounds. When we pray we are blessed, no matter what our circumstances are. Because there’s peace that surpasses all understanding.

Lord, thank you for being our Father. Thank you that you desire only the best for your children. Because of what you did on the cross, Jesus, we are blessed … because we are saved.