Watery Wednesday: Typhoon Pedring

He hit Luzon hard. Typhoon Pedring roared and howled all day yesterday uprooting so many trees all over the Metro, disabling our trains and putting out the electricity. 

In these pics I took from our building window, the billboards have been uninstalled from their steel frames to prevent damages that may occur if these frames collapse from the strong winds. 

Good thing, today is a better day. Time to clean up the streets and repair the damages the continuous rain and winds brought. 

Hope everyone have a safe and happy week. The news says there's another storm coming :(

More WW entried here : 

My New Project

For months now, I have been finding ways to lose weight. Yep, it's that perennial issue of weight that almost all of  us deal with one way or another. Darn those lucky few who eat like a horse and never gain a pound (so inggit!)

I am trying my best not to succumb to diet pills or drinks, subukan na ng will power ito. For me, it's all about eating right and exercise. My goal: to come to that point when I can throw away my body shaper and bring out those triangle tops again by summer. Yeah! Do I sound super confident?

Not really.

Thus, this blog now ; so that I can chronicle my improvements (if any). They say one effective way to push you into achieving a goal is to let others know about it. So there, I'm letting the blog world know about this goal so you can help me push myself more. Sorry, damay kayo :)

I've started off with weekly aerobics and by cutting down on dinner. No rice at night, if possible (but the weather is so conjusive to over eating, aarrrghh!). Also, cut down on sweetened juices, coffee, chocolates and cola. So far, I have lost a few pounds but most importantly I feel that, through exercise, I lost some of those bulges in places there shouldn't be :0 Another nice thing about exercise is that it makes you stronger and more energetic. That's super plus especially for a working mom like me who needs the energy of a thousand men to get through the day.

I have several more pounds to lose and a thousand more crunches to do to I get to my goal but I'm doing it slowly but surely this time. Hope to get there :)

me, some (many) years back 

Craving for Mochi Balls

It's a bed weather out there and I'm here at work, well, working. In moments such as these when I want to have my comfort food and right now nothing comes to mind but those Mochi balls from Kozui. 

The flavor of this yummy treat just bursts in your mouth. You'll get an array of flavors from the bitter sweet chocolate powder, sticky rice and the rich dark chocolate at the core. There's just no words to describe the feeling as you chew into this delectable treat. Yum! 

Have a safe week everyone! :)

Recipe Share : Cupcakes!

Who doesn't love cupcakes? These yummy treats brings out a smile to every kid and makes a grown up feel like a kids again. 

Here's a frosting recipe to share to all of you from the New Gen Baker as shared too from http://www.ourbestbites.com/. I've tried this once and kept making it as requested by the whole family. The frosting is so addicting :) For the frosting below, I added a little red color to make pink frosting and used MAYA brownie mix for the cake. I've done it also with a lemon cake recipe and they're perfect together. Will share that lemon cake recipe in a separate post :)

Here's a recipe to share. Click here http://www.newgenbaker.com/recipes.php?id=25 to get full details. 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons MAYA All-Purpose Flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup REAL butter
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or any other flavor 

Instructions

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. I think this is the critical point for any of you who have had problems with this recipe. I have a feeling people are under-cooking this part. Let it cook, while stirring, until it looks like pudding (you should be able to see the bottom of the pan when you stir it). Even though it's thick, you can still it through a mesh strainer (just whisk the mixture in the strainer to push the thick stuff through) and then let it cool completely to room temp. or chill it in the fridge. It needs to be cooled completely. If you don't let it cool completely, it will melt the butter and you'll have runny frosting.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You'll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer, not the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat on the highest speed you can get to without it spraying all over the place for 7 minutes. Yes, 7 whole minutes, maybe even 8 or 9. I know that seems like a long time, but that's when the magic happens!

You will be scared because it will look like a weird goopy mess at first and you'll wonder what on earth you did wrong. Keep beating and something amazing happens. It goes from that goopy mess to something thick, velvety smooth, and perfectly fluffy.
Use it to fill cupcakes or other pastries, or as a frosting on top. You can't go wrong putting this on just about anything :)  

GT: Orangey!

With this topic on at GT, I just realized now that I don't have anything orangey in my closet. Except for the sweater which I wore while I was pregnant with Sam (see pics below with the Survivors cuties). I remember also receiving Xoxo wallet and check holder as a gift. Apart from that, no more orange thing for me. Not that I hate the color, I'm just more of a red person :)

Here's another orangey photo, a cathedral in Iloilo. Now, when it comes to photos I just love warm orange colors of a dimmed light or sunset. I took this at past midnight as we were going back to the hotel. With only the street lights as source of light for me, the structure gave off a very warm orangey color :)

To cap off this post, I'm so contemplating on getting a satchel bag soon and considering this color. I found one in Robinson's Galleria that's less than 2K. SO. CUTE! Whatchathink? 

http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/orange+satchel

Happy GT! :)

Because Family's Health is Important

wo weeks ago, my husband, daughter and son were down with illnesses and it's the time of the year when the ER is an IT place for us. Sophie and Sam got respiratory infection that's seem to be a craze now and Stephen had fever for days and a peptic acid attack (his first time). Good thing all is well now with my three dearies after going into medication and follow up check ups.

This is also the time that I'm thankful for the HMO (health maintenance organization) that my husband and I have as part of our companies' benefits. In our company alone, an employee and up to four dependents are covered by the HMO for free while the company provides medicine allowance for each dependent. 

Just hearing the stories of parents who shelled out money for check ups, medicine and laboratories made me cringe. At these times, I believe the HMO is one of the most important coverage that we need to secure for our family especially for our kids. It helps to think that when they get sick, we can bring them to the doctor as immediately as possible. 

There is an option for those who think HMOs are too pricey for their budget. One can always apply for a Philhealth membership. One good thing about Philhealth is that they now have this card for their members (gone are the days of that cartolina paper card, I just wish the new card has member photo). 

I applied for a card and for all my dependents. That's just P80 for a new card for an existing member and P10 for a card for each dependent. If you are a new member, I think the card costs P100. 

Philhealth came to visit our company and gave a chance for employees to apply for the new cards and update their MDRs (membership data record). Updating MDR would mean updating the info like address (if you've moved to a different place, dependents, status, etc. For my case, I included my two kids as dependents so I filled up a PMRF (Philhealth Member Registration Form) and provided photo copy of their birth certificates and submitted to Philhealth personnel for processing. The agency will just mail you the copy of updated MDR and cards for the dependents. My card I already got just after a couple of hours after applying :)

I say kudos! to our current government for coming up with this project and doing something to improve our government agencies. It's high time :)

Recipe Share : Sweet and Saucy Chicken Wings

Sweet and Saucy Chicken Wings

Ingredients:

1. ½ k. chicken wings, seasoned with salt and pepper

2. 200 g. Del Monte Tomato Sauce Filipino Style (I prefer the Filipino Style so I wont have to add so much sugar to sweeten the mixture)

3. 2 tbsp. brown sugar

4. 1 tsp. paprika ( you can add more for extra spice)

5. 2 tsp. hot sauce

6. 1 tbsp. oregano

7. 2 tbsp. soy sauce

8. 2 tbsp. butter

9. cooking oil for frying chicken 

What to do:

1. Preheat oven toaster
2. Lightly season chicken wings with salt and pepper and fry until cooked.
3. In a separate bowl, combine ingredients 2 to 7 and mix until sugar is dissolved. 
4. Once chicken is cooked, place chicken wings on a paper towel or strainer to drain excess oil.
5. Coat chicken in sauce mixture and line up on a toaster plate. Put a slice of butter on top of each chicken wing and finish off in the oven for less than 5 minutes. Enjoy! 

chicken swimming in sauce and butter :0

This is actually my attempt to make buffalo wings. My critique is husband (I think he's the lamest critique there is because he loves anything I make).

Me: How is it? Okay ba?

Husband: Sarap!

Me: Parang buffalo wings?

Husband: No. Parang Bonchon (referring to the new Korean chicken resto that's a craze now)

I'm slightly disappointed but happy na rin knowing that Bonchon chicken is a hit all over town nowadays and my recipe is close to what they make. I haven't tried Bonchon yet but husband and I are planning to have dinner there this week. Until then, I'll have to content myself with the thought that my husband loves it and requests for it every weekend. 

'Til my next recipe adventure! :)

Lampara Books: Superwoman si Inay

While looking for organizer boxes in National Bookstore in Trinoma, I chanced upon shelves of Filipino children's publication in the farthest corner of the store (this area also housed the charts for schooling kids like the Philippine map, parts of the body, etc.). I saw rows of books from Lampara Books and decided to buy this one, Superwoman si Inay by Segundo Matias Jr. The story is told in both Tagalog and English and talks about a boy who marvels at how her Mom can do everything, like a superhero. The recurring sentence here is 'Ang galing galing talaga ni Inay!'

What really made me buy this book? I personally know the illustrator because we have worked together for several projects. This guy is really talented and you can see it from the illustrations in this book. Very sophisticated and colorful. 

Sophie and Sam love it when I read this book before bedtime. They want me to read it both in English and Tagalog. After reading time, I ask Sophie the questionnaires at the end part of the book to practice her comprehension skills and it's amazing that she was able to answer the questions in the book. Simply means that she was interested in the story and paid attention while I read. 

This book is less than a hundred bucks, I think around P65. If you have time, please drop by National Bookstore and buy these Filipino produced children's books. Let's support our local artists :)

GT: All White

I love white. It gives off a very refreshing aura to any person or place. Although it's hard to keep clean when I'm wearing something white, I love to put it on when I want to attract positive vibes and wish for happy thoughts on a really toxic day. 

I am also particularly fond of white golds. Here, our photo op showing off our wedding rings.

 Fast forward to four years... here were are, the white team during Sam's binyag.

Me in Space blouse, Sophie in Gingersnaps dress, Sam in a barong terno and Stephen in a white polo. 

I miss joining GT. So nice to be back :)

Early Christmas Shopping For the Little Ones

Three weeks ago, SM held a 3-day KIDS sale at Megatrade Hall in Megamall. The sale hungry couple (that's us) went there as early as 10am of Friday, halos kakabukas lang ng tindahan. Atat much? hehe :)

I never realized that I will leave the venue after one and half hours with bags and bags of clothes for our kids, nephews, inaanaks, kapitbahay and helpers son. Ito na yung Christmas gifts nila and I'm so happy that I was able to cross out all the kids' names from my list. Yipee!

We always watch out for pre-holidays sale since the discount is much much bigger than during the Ber months when merchandisers know that people already have their money from bonuses and are willing to spend for holiday gifts.

When husband and I draw out our list for Christmas, we always prioritize the kids especially since we have quite a long list of inaanaks combined. Plus, we always believe that Christmas is a season for kids. They should always get something from Mommy, Daddy, Tito, Tita, Ninang, Lolo or Lola. I love watching kids open their gifts on a Christmas night under the Christmas tree. It's such a Kodak moment :)

What Passion Means for Me

This past two weeks have been a total whirlpool of events for me at work (and at home). Thus, the rarity of blog posts recently.
In a nutshell, I'm attending emergency meetings and internal meetings left and right because of this very major project we need to launch asap. This one is really a challenge in a big scale.

And you know how I feel right now?

 I'm soooo excited and revved up for it! Let's get it on, I say! I can't wait to get through the concept and study phases and start with the actual leg work. I know it will not be an easy feat for the team and easy is such an understatement. Part of the challenge is to make everyone get into the boat as enthusiastic and excited as I am. I'm seeing a very beautiful rainbow after the journey through deep waters and thunderstorms. And do you know what's at the end of every rainbow? :) I just need to make sure everyone stays safely on the boat throughout this hell raising trip. Isn't that exciting?

This morning during breakfast, I realized that my love and passion for my career is and will always be that flame that will never die. If I stop doing what I'm passionate for, then that's probably the time I'll start to die. I'll probably stop when I'm old enough, in a catheter and rheumatic and can't to get up from bed in the morning and go to work.

With that, I leave you with quotes from two great people. Their words reflect so much of how I feel about my work. I'm off to another meeting in 10 minutes :)

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. "

Martin Luther King, Jr. 


"You've got to follow your passion.  You've got to figure out what it is you love--who you really are.  And have the courage to do that.  I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dream." - Oprah Winfrey