Every Thought Counts

Mini Cosplay Event

2012-02-23T14:55:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, Pristine joined another activity at school—a mini cosplay event, which is part of their foundation week. They also had this kind of activity last year, but limited to high school students only. So now that they allowed gradeschoolers to join, everyone was nonetheless so excited. It's not compulsory to join, but we thought, it would be so much fun to dress up as your favorite character or any character's outfit you fancy the most.

So amid my recent two-week work deadline, I had to squeeze-in time to make her costume accessories. That said "squeezed-in time" took three of my working days. And when worse comes to worst, I had a fluctuating Internet connection for three consecutive days that left me no choice, but to be unproductive. I had spent the last two days almost straight in front of my computer with very few hours of sleep in between—ignored all emails, text messages, even calls from mom—which made my mom think I was not excited of her news that she's coming home this March. haha I've been a two-day zombie, but I am happy that I was able to send it to my employer in the nick of time, just I would be happier if it was earlier. To tell you all, yesterday, I've had the best sleep in years. ;)

Going back, I had to hire a seamstress for her costume. Although I've made a couple for my kids in the past—it still doesn't make me a seamstress who does correct fitting and skillful sewing. But being the risk taker that I am, I would have been willing to try to do so, if only I had the luxury of time. With that said, I just concentrated in making all the accessories needed. Starting from the body holster up to those silver pads on her legs. 0_o

So here's the character she chose: Nina Williams - Tekken 6.

I was happy with the outcome of the costume, but had a little problem because the seamstress copied exactly the V-form in the abdomen part. I didn't know who else (aside from the animated character) could wear something that might show what is supposed to be hidden. I couldn't really blame her though since it was a real rush job and what she got were incomplete measurements. She still did a good job, I must say! Good thing was I got the leftover fabric to attach to that area in front and at the back.

So minus the boobies, here's our version of Nina Williams. hehe

With fellow students...

Pristine was one of the four winners for Best in Costume. We didn't expect that because we didn't know that they would be having Best in Costume awardees. All I know was I enjoyed making the bits and pieces, despite finding out that installing grommets could be so tricky, even if you have the right tools. haha But ya know, winning is always a great bonus! So we're both happy.

Ma-po Tofu Recipe

2012-02-13T12:27:00.000+08:00

If you love Tofu, then you might like this recipe too. Everyone in the family except for kids are so into Tofu, these days. We love silken tofu most especially in Korean Ramen. Yum! I don't like it fried though—I just couldn't feel its silky texture. If I want it fried, then I'd go for ordinary Tofu.

I couldn't miss to order this whenever I see one in a Chinese restaurant. Ma-po Tofu has developed into varieties. Some use squid, beef, pork, or even prawns—cooked with the distinct ingredients and same procedure of this dish. This time I tried this Vegetarian Mapo Tofu recipe.

Since we don't have bean paste in the kitchen that time, I just pounded about 2 Tbsps. of whole black beans. I also didn't add Cilantro since I don't like its pungent smell (if you know what I mean).

It's not newly cooked when I took this pic so the broth turned a little sticky, but after heating it for 30 seconds in a microwave, it got back to its full glory. Ma-po Tofu in a breeze. I love this recipe!

What I've Been Up To This Week

2012-02-04T23:51:00.000+08:00

I've been a busy momma again this week. My youngest, Julianna competed for spelling bee earlier this week and Pristine competed in an oration contest last Thursday. Julianna made it to the top three with two mistakes. Pristine didn't win, but that doesn't make me less of a proud mommy. She was a little disappointed, but I told her that in reality, no one can win every battle. Everybody wants to win—and it's pretty normal—but do not forget the essence of taking part. You have been given a chance that not everyone has. All of the pupils were required to memorize and deliver the speech, but only few were chosen to compete for the actual contest. So be proud! Be thankful for the experience and strive to do better next time. =)

Also, last week she passed an audition for a singing contest at school—a fun activity spearheaded by the Student Council. The actual contest was held yesterday, and she sang one of her favorite songs, Jar of Hearts, sung by one of her favorite new artists, Christina Perri.

Photos grabbed from her Facebook Fan Page

We decided to steal Christina Perri's look in Jar of Heart's music vid. But because the black combat boots sent by my mom hasn't arrived yet, and what we got was a pair in pink. I decided to go for black and pink combo instead of white and black.

So here she is, rocking the high-and-low hem dress. =)

I pulled out her old black dress, which was originally knee-length, plain, and not even poofy. And since I wanted it shorter, but didn't want to trash the dress after a single use, I just folded it up to the waistline and sewed it—instead of cutting it. I added a black fabric at the back of the dress and layered it with tulle in decreasing lengths. All sewing was done by hand since I'm still afraid to use a sewing machine. hehe

Not exactly the same as Christina Perri's look, but still inspired by it.

She was having a bad-voice-day during the oration contest, so we were quite nervous because the singing contest will be held the following day. Actually, she experiences it almost every morning due to her allergic rhinitis. A dusty substance is all it takes to make her eyes swollen and makes her nose runny, then normally followed by a hoarse voice. It usually takes an hour before everything gets back to normal and worse it may take a whole day. So I had to served her a ginger tea the night before and in the morning of the actual day. I also gave her an allergy pill an hour before the contest because I noticed she was starting to scratch her nose—when powder gets into her nose—while my sister is doing her makeup. Can you imagine how makeup could ruin everything?

I happened to witness a boy who lost his voice in the middle of an elocution contest—on the same day Pristine had her oration. It's just heartbreaking to see him struggling to finish his piece. I was scared of the thought that it could also happen to her.

Pristine on stage..

She got even more nervous when she found out that she'd be the first one to sing. I could feel her shaking, and I know, I somehow absorbed the feeling. So when her name was called, I thought I was having a heart attack (true story). hahaha

My hands were shaking and it's evident on this video.

Pristine singing Jar of Hearts

There were flats throughout the song and have missed a few lines at the end. But nonetheless, I was so happy that she had overcome *the terrifying* stage fright and managed to finish the song. I don't know if I could even finish a nursery rhyme in front of a crowd. hahaha

She didn't win, but the experience itself is priceless—and she truly enjoyed it! And it seems that she would never get tired of grabbing any opportunity (no matter how big or small) that might come along her way. Having those thoughts are enough to keep me very supportive of my daughters—win or lose. They are my true trophies in life. And I couldn't be more proud!

The Continuing Saga of Cleaning

2012-01-26T16:05:00.000+08:00

I spent a lot of time cleaning, cleaning, and cleaning last week. December has come and gone, yet I was only able to do a general cleaning just last week. The only year I didn't do a Pre-holiday cleaning. It's a never ending battle of juggling time and priorities. And I just can't be good at everything—I have been trying my best though, the reason I'm blogging now. lols

I find it so hard to clean and revive a neglected garden. Weeds are everywhere! Plus the wall crawlers I have planted more than a year has become so invasive that it even crawls to where it should not. Since I used to have a variety of beautiful pants around my small garden, we've found it so hard to paint the walls behind them, so I decided to just plant a wall crawler. I wasn't able to take photos, but I'm sure you are familiar with it. The crawler plant has tiny leaves that are meant to camouflage walls. I remember being so excited to see it growing and slowly crawling our walls, but after experiencing how difficult it is to manage, I almost completely regret having it. Imagine one would have to trim it at least once a week to prevent it from going crazy. And if you don't have a hired gardener, then good luck! So please wish me luck! =)

Anyway, to continue the saga of salvaging my garden, I purchased few plants I used to have.

A type of Malaysian Mums...

Candle flower...

And one of my favorite shady-loving plant: Impatiens. Its flowers may look so ordinary—similar to Periwinkle, but I like its pretty foliage. I've started propagating it through cuttings.

Yay! A happy gardener is a happy gardener. =)

Modified Planner and a Giveaway

2012-01-26T15:59:00.001+08:00

Not mine, but if you have the time, please check out how my sister turns a boring planner...

into a unique vintage(y) cutie!

Brilliant no? The best thing about it is you can't find it elsewhere—and she's giving it away to one lucky person, of course for free! The giveaway is open world wide, so please follow this link for the mechanics. There are five days left 'til it ends, so join now!

Happy Blogging!

Anti-SOPA and PIPA

2012-01-19T15:33:00.001+08:00

This blog is not in any way technology-related, but as an Internet user, I must help inform even a few people what the future Internet looks like if SOPA passes.

SOPA stands for "Stop Online Piracy Act" - a proposed bill in the United States House of Representatives and PIPA (Protect IP Act) in the U.S Senate- They are two proposed bills that would allow Department of Justice and copyright owners to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling copyright infringements. - Actions could include taking down any website that would link to allegedly infringing website.

There is already an act that requires websites such as Youtube to take down any videos that contain infringing content. Say, you uploaded a video of yourself, singing or dancing, Youtube may pull it down because of the song you use. But they are not directly responsible for your action. Now if it passes, Youtube can be blocked any time or maybe put on the blacklist, you could as well, face legal action because of using a copyrighted material.

So you may think, No, they can't drag me into courts because I'm not from the U.S! Yes, but think about this since SOPA allows to go after the ISPs (Internet Service Providers). Large websites, advertising networks, or payment processors from the United States such as Paypal. They could simply require any of those to block and ban you from doing business with them. That would truly hurt me since I am working online and rely on Paypal to receive my compensation.

Bloggers are sure easy targets since what we do is share information. Blogging is all about sharing and promoting. Since my blog is still hosted in blogger, which is owned by Google. They could easily take this blog down, as well as Google—even if I am just sharing an effective product I tried or just by simply linking an unknowingly infringing blog/website. And also, my domain name is registered in the US too. So no, they can't drag me to jail, but they can easily shut this blog down, block me from here and there. A single complaint is all it takes.

How it can affect most users?

Google, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Tumblr, Wikipedia and so many more giant websites we frequent are all in the United States. Since they would become responsible of what their users would share, how can they guarantee that none of their millions of users will upload or share any copyright infringing material? If SOPA passes, expect limited amount of information all over the Internet. Social Media would be dead.

Web Goes on Strike
Big names such as Google, Wikipedia, Reddit, Tumblr, Mozilla, Wordpress, ETSY, Vimeo, Flickr and many more participate in the protest against SOPA. Wikipedia even blacked out all of their English articles for 24 hours as a protest against SOPA.

It's not too late late to take part, you may sign your petition here:

SOPA STRIKE

Not in the US? Petition the State Department

Saying Hello to 2012

2012-01-08T17:13:00.002+08:00

We celebrated the New Year's Eve at my MIL's house. Every year, we have to choose whether to spend the Christmas eve or the New Year's eve with my in-laws. For years, I have hated the idea. Don't get me wrong, I get along so well with my in-laws (more than you can imagine), but I believe, the eve should always be celebrated at home—where we live. Anyway, we could always spend the actual day with them. My husband always tells me that it's alright if I want to spend it at home. But of course, deep inside him, he wants to be with us, at the same time, be with his mother, brother, sister, nephews, and nieces. So to make things easier for him, we always spend either one of the two important evenings at his mom's house. Plus I love my mother-in-law, that's why. - Enough said.

Pristine and Julianna

Just in case you're wondering why there were gifts on New Year's Eve. My sister-in-law and her husband are from a different religion (not really an issue) where they don't celebrate Christmas, so they give away presents during New Year's Eve.

My daughters with their cousins from father's side

I didn't have the chance to take photos of our feast since almost everyone ate earlier—fact I was not so happy about. Salo-salo (eating together), more so Media Noche lost their meanings. No way can be done at home. Anyone could take snack prior to Media Noche, but at least save some tummy space for full meals during the salo-salo dinner. Well, it didn't happen at our home, so it almost became an ordinary dinner just with extra-ordinary amount of food.

Anyway, I baked Braso de Mercedes the day before. We had Palabok, Kare-Kare, Rellenong Bangus, Biko, and the good old bacon and ham. The table wasn't anymore pleasing to photograph even before 11 p.m. hehe

Lighting up their sparklers

I used to buy trumpets for kids during New Year's Eve, just so they could have their own way of contributing to noise. LOL But my oh my, after seeing vendors trying on every trumpets they were selling just to be able to convince buyers how powerful the trumpets are, I have changed my mind. hehe I was supposed to pick plastic ones, thinking I could disinfect them anyway, but we all know most of the toys are from China. And we were already informed about the amount of lead that most of made in China toys have. Why put lead into kids' mouths? Never mind.

Picking up their presents

Roca

The above picture was Roca earlier before the New Year's Eve, looking cute and active as ever. Picture below was during the time fire crackers are on everywhere. It broke my heart that I had to feed her under a short table because she was so scared hearing all the fire crackers.

And because someone didn't cook that night, she got the chance to iron curled her hair. haha

My sister gave me prosperity candles to light before 12 midnight.

I had to queued them up starting from the shortest to tallest. Lighted them from the tallest to shortest at exactly 11:30 p.m.

Color represents:

Orange - long life

Green - money

Pink - health

Violet - material wealth

Blue - peace

Red- love

Yellow - harmony

I had to put their lights out at exactly 12 midnight. It says: "The candle that melts the quickest will signify the most bountiful blessing you will have."

While I carry a Chinese birth name, I'm not a big believer of *lucky stuff or rituals*, but hey I had so much fun waiting for the candles to melt! And almost a fool for anxiously waiting which candle would melt the quickest. Now, I'm giving you the right to call me foolish for being somehow disappointed as obviously, the green candle was still standing proud by 12 midnight. hahaha

Entertaining good vibes and thoughts are always the best way to start off a year. It was a tough 2011 for our family—financially. The toughest year by far. But still grateful to God that everyone in the family was in good condition—health wise, and the fact that we survived is enough to be thankful for.

I thank God for the year that was. Just hoping for a better 2012! I hope we will all have a better one.

Still on Christmas Eve

2012-01-03T20:57:00.001+08:00

Happy New Year everyone! How were your holidays? We may have diverse ways of celebrating holidays, but we all try to make it as much fun and meaningful as possible. I know, I should be posting my 2012 resolutions, wish lists or a New Year relevant post, but for the sake of keeping my posts in chronological order, let me share our intimate Christmas feast at home first.

'Twas the second time I baked Sansrival. The first one was almost four years ago and it was a flop to tell the tale. Though I still encountered a problem, I have managed it well this time. It didn't turn out crisp, but it's still sinfully addictive! I will definitely share with you guys the recipe. The few alterations from the original recipe and the solution I did is worth mentioning because I've never seen it elsewhere. Otherwise, I could have saved eggs and sugar. LOL

So these were the Chicken and Pork Empanadas I made. I am not so proud about this. Although the filling tasted just right—exactly how I wanted—the crust was too flaky. Yes, we all want a flaky one, but as flaky as a good pie, not as flaky as a biscuit. I was laughing because it was almost Uraro to me (native biscuit) just with filling. haha I opted to bake them instead of the conventional way of frying because I wanted to avoid as much fats as possible. And I thought the only thing to blame was I had overbaked them. But I still had dough sitting on the fridge to make the next morning, so tried frying instead, hoping to get a different result. Much to my dismay, it still turned out like a biscuit. So I realized, it wasn't my fault at all. It's not a good recipe. So I'm still stuck on the quest for a perfect Empanada crust.

Simply yummy Caramel Bars from Max's!

Rellenong Bangus prepared and cooked by my husband. If it's something made by my DH, don't ask 99%, guaranteed it's delicious! (Not being biased here)

Beef Morcon by an aunt. The only Morcon recipe I am dying to get. I've never tasted a Morcon sauce

as yummy.

What is best paired with Rellenong Bangus other than Shanghai Rice?

Yummy Filipino Style Spaghetti by another aunt.

The Chinese Ham we grew up with, only from Excellente. My sister braved the long line and grumpy people just to be able to take Excellente on our table. Eating this together with bread, mayonnaise, and Queso de Bola is simply heaven! Just a little disappointed that the nearest SM supermarket ran out of Antonio Pueo (chocolate tablet), which is another staple on our table during Christmas eve.

Buko Salad

Pristine

Julianna

My kids, nieces, and a cousin opening presents.

And the lady who would kill for Tofu... LOL

My sister

Few of the gang who rocked the Christmas Eve.

How could I forget about my dearest Roca.

And yours truly

I know, I have a lot of catching up to do. See you :)

The Christmas Hype

2011-12-23T04:11:00.000+08:00

So my Christmas break has officially started last Tuesday, when my kids had their Christmas parties at their respective schools—break from waking up early and preparing school stuff (at least). Well, just when you thought you could slow down a bit, here comes the manic pace of Christmas. Yes, I know that we tend to get busier and busier in the few days prior to holiday. So before I totally got caught up in the fever, let me share this one.

Here's Pristine when she attended their Christmas party at school.

I was up the whole night baking her potluck food, then wrapped presents for the exchange gift and for her teachers as well. I was able to sleep only after she left for school, which was around seven in the morning. :s

While we were waiting for the school bus

Pristine with some of her classmates. I grabbed this photo from her teacher's FB account.

Yes, teachers have Facebook accounts too, but I don't add them! :D

And here's Julianna during their Christmas Party..

Julianna with sleepy Santa Elf. ^_^

Don't you find her ripped tights cool? hehe

The night before her Christmas party, Julianna tried on her clothes—to decide which accessories to mix-and-match. I didn't know how, but she accidentally ripped a hole in her tights. It's quite big, so there's no way we could hide it. Yes, you have guessed it right—I purposely ripped holes all over it! Fun! Now, Pristine is asking for one too. haha

Julianna and other preparatory students sang Christmas carols that day.

Santa's elves!

I was thankful that school just ordered food from Jollibee instead of having potluck—I would have been dead, if not. lol

My ever kikay elf, Julianna.

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I am not sure if I can post again before or on Christmas to be able to greet all of you, so might as well do it now. Merry Christmas friends! I hope we'll all have a meaningful and healthy one!

Pristine's 11th

2011-12-15T00:50:00.003+08:00

My daughter, Pristine turns 11 last week. Since it was a weekday, I was supposed to bring food and some party souvenirs to school—to have a simple celebration with her classmates, just like last year. But I was too tired and didn't have that much energy to shop and prepare every stuff that was needed. Someone suggested that maybe we could just have a pizza party at home instead—in that way, effort is lesser and we could just spend a day-out on the weekend.

To cut it short, I had to bake eight large pizzas to satisfy my family's monster tummies. It was supposed to be 10 pizzas, but I got knocked down on the 8th. LOL

The best thing about pizza is you can toss everything together, from bacon to bell peppers. But I had to make Hawaiian pizzas since it's the only flavor Pristine would eat, opposite of Julianna, whom would eat everything, even anchovy.

I also baked two random cakes, a Meringue cake for Pristine, which is perfect looking through the glass of the oven, until it was time to pull it out. Upon pulling the cake out, its surface hit the upper part of the oven. My perfectly perfect Meringue cake almost turned into a disaster—just like that! So I lost my appetite to prettify it, just covered the torn part with glittery heart toppers.

The other one I baked was a chocolate cake for our puppy Roca. Yes, she turns one, not exactly on the same date, but I thought it would be best to bake for the two celebrants at one time.

I wanted to put names and design their cakes because I still have Wilton's frosting in different colors. But because of all the lost energy from the pizza wrestling match and the disappointing meringue cake experience, I felt anything I touch next would become even disastrous. However, the taste was the saving grace. They were both sinfully delicious, especially the Meringue cake! I was a bit surprised because both of them were random recipes in mind. I baked accordingly to the ingredients on hand.

I originally planned to take the kids to Seriland on the weekend since I've just recently learned about it through a blogging friend, Anney. I showed the pics to her, she liked it, but she said, it's for younger kids and we could always go some other time. She just wanted to spend a whole afternoon at any ice skating rink, and since she's the master of the moment, we spent the whole Sunday afternoon there..

My niece, Aubrey, Julianna, and Pristine

Aside from swimming, Pristine loves skating too. And she expressed how she wanted to take up figure skating lessons. Maybe in summer, she could take up lessons with Julianna and her cousin. The traffic we would have to brave just in case, is not a joke, just to be able to reach the nearest ice skating rink.

Pristine

Julianna

The hungry skaters!

Okay, and a tired mama deserves a new hair color! hehe

Have a good day, everyone!

My Previous Week

2011-12-12T14:00:00.000+08:00

So I had been absent from my blog last week. Aside from work and daily chores, I have also been busy tending to my motherly obligations. My preschooler, Julianna, passed academic contest elimination rounds at school in two different subjects. I wasn't immediately informed about it because she was absent from class (Friday) when teachers sent notifications. Weekends had passed, and learned about it only a few hours before the actual contest. I kind of felt like I was the one who's cramming while Julianna was so relax and was having her another for-all-I-care moment. LOL

I sat down with her and did a quick knowledge refreshing a few hours before the contest. But I bet, if anything entered her mind. Even though, she didn't win the said academic contests, I was still very proud of her—just by passing two different eliminations without reviewing were enough to make me one proud mama.

Good job baby!

Oh and before I forget to mention, I also wrestled with eight pizzas last week—enough to make me immobilized for two days [insert exaggeration here] but that deserves a different post, otherwise this would be lengthy.

Christmas Air

2011-12-05T22:07:00.001+08:00

I can't believe we only have 20 days left before Christmas—Time is flying! I have just started decorating, and haven't done any holiday shopping yet. I suddenly feel the rush! I should find time to do that.

Honestly, I miss being excited for Christmas—the same feeling I used to feel when I was a little child. As I grew older the excitement was lesser. I don't know if it's just me, but I honestly feel that Christmas air would never be the same again. Maybe it's because of the lost youth. I just wish my daughters will be forever excited about Christmas.

We used to play Christmas songs as early as September—when my mom was still living here. I feel suddenly sad thinking she's not coming for the Holidays. Anyway, this Christmas song is one of the favorites at home—brings back memories.

The Quick Chocolate Cake Recipe

2011-12-04T02:30:00.001+08:00

My ten year old daughter has a penchant for cooking, just like her mom. I remember, I have started cooking for the whole family at the age of 11. Nothing exceptional, you may say. Well, let me tell you this, stop watching Junior Masterchef now! haha It's a completely different level. But kidding aside, during that time, I always take pride to see everyone was full and satisfied every time I cook. So now that Pristine shows interest for cooking and baking, I let her cook easy meals.

One time I was busy working in front of my PC, Pristine came to me and asked if I could bake for her as she was craving for something sweet. I wouldn't be able to meet my deadline if I give in, so I just pulled out my recipe chronicles and find the easiest recipe she can try.

So here's what she made...

The quickest yet yummy moist chocolate cake! Although Pristine has already cooked a couple of easy dishes, it was her first attempt at baking a cake. She was surprised how easy this one was. This recipe doesn't require an oven and mixer, not even skills! LOL

Here's what you need:

Coffee Mug
1 tablespoon. + 1 tsp. cocoa (use the yummiest you can find)
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons evaporated milk or fresh milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla

Procedure:

Combine all dry ingredients and mix well
Add vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla to the dry ingredients, mix very well using a spoon.
Grease your coffee mug with vegetable oil before pouring the mixture. Thick consistency is normal, just so you know. Tilt the mug to level the mixture.
Bake in the microwave for 50 seconds, do not over bake otherwise you won't achieve a moist cake.
Let it cool before removing from the mug.

Yes, as simple as that! Now you don't have an excuse not to try. It's so easy and the ingredients are staples in your kitchen. Pristine suggested me to make then stock up on chocolate frosting, so she can enjoy more of this quick chocolate cake. I would definitely try this with chocolate chips and some nuts next time.

Happy baking everyone!

Weekend Fun

2011-11-30T22:34:00.001+08:00

A cousin of mine celebrated her birthday last Saturday. She decided to throw a swimming party in a private resort in Laguna. We always choose Laguna whenever we plan a swimming party for the whole family because we enjoy the warm and fresh water from Mt. Makiling, not to mention its accessibility. We try to visit different resorts each time though.

My sister might kill me for posting this because she didn't bother to dress-up or even put a lipstick on (her look since she got up from bed). haha Probably because it was just an hour and a half of trip away and we would go swimming anyway.

Me, the celebrant, and my sister.

Wacky or shall I say pa-cute moment with half of the gang..

The resort we rented was Villa Flora 1. The private resort has two pools: an adult pool and a kiddie pool. Second story has a small balcony, three rooms: two air conditioned rooms and one fan room—a total of seven queen-sized beds. One common toilet and bath room and two more on the first level.

Parking within can accommodate two SUVs. The activity area has a long table in the center and a videoke machine. There's a billiard table going down from the left side of the kiddie pool, free of charge, but unfortunately five balls were missing. Good luck to the nine ball challenge. :S

Pool was just quarterly filled with water when we arrived, which was good, as obviously the water had just been changed. And yeah, I didn't miss the smell of Chlorine.

What I really like about staying overnight in a private resort is you can jump in the water first thing in the morning, even in your pajamas.

Or even if you look like a pajama...LOL

We witnessed the swimmer in Roca when she accidentally slipped into the pool when she ran through a curved portion. Poor baby chilling, good thing I grabbed her hair dryer before we left the house.

Mommy jumped off to save Roca! haha

My daughter, Pristine and Niece, Aubrey.

My daughter, Julianna.

I was pulling her down because she kept on floating up in the water. She wanted so bad to have an underwater scene captured. LOL

My sister with the kids.

Binge session with the fam

Sure we brought disposable plates, but still preferred to eat Filipino style—on a banana leaf, which we love to call salo-salo. Food we had were also Filipino staples.

Beef sinigang (Beef in tangy soup), Inihaw na Bangus, Tilapia, Squids, and liempo (Grilled seafoods and pork belly), Halabos na hipon (cocktail shrimps), Pork embotido, and Giniling na baboy (please translate).

You can tell we're almost done here by the look of that almost empty rice pot. haha

Fun times, fun times!

Stuffed Roast Chicken Recipe

2011-11-23T21:27:00.001+08:00

So I have been constantly checking my cookbooks for some recipes I might include in my Holiday menus. So the other night, I tried out a chicken recipe, which I have had for ages. Have I mentioned, I love anything stuffed? I just made some alterations from the original recipe.

So here's what you need to do:

Clean a medium sized chicken thoroughly especially its cavity—should be free from giblets. Drain or pat dry before marinating.

For the Roast Chicken, you need:

Two pcs. medium sized potatoes
Two pcs. medium sized carrots
Medium sized syringe
2 Tbsps. light soy sauce (I used Maggi Magic Savor)
2 Tbsps. pound garlic
2 Tbsps. melted butter mixed with 2 Tbsps. olive oil
Salt
Few drops of lemon or calamansi
Freshly ground pepper

Marinating Procedure:

Pour few drops of lemon onto the chicken and rub
Brush the mixed melted butter and olive oil onto the chicken
Rub the pound garlic all over the chicken
Rub salt and pepper all over
Fill the syringe with light soy sauce and inject it into the meat. Make sure the marinade is evenly distributed on the chicken.
Cover and set aside—let it rest for at least two hours inside the fridge.
Chop carrots and potatoes into small cubes, pour 1 tbsp. melted butter and olive oil mixture, dash with ground pepper, mix, then set aside.

For the stuffing, you need:

Garlic
Onion
1 tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley (Kinchay in tagalog) OR you may use parsley
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 Tbsps. butter
2 cups croutons (dried small pieces of bread)

Stove top procedure (for stuffing):

Melt butter in a pan
Saute' garlic and onion
Add croutons and chopped flat leaf parsley OR parsley, mix well
Pour chicken stock, mix well. Let cool.

Stuffing procedure:

Fill the chicken cavity with cooked stuffing mix, cross the legs of the chicken, then tie them using kitchen twine.

Place the mix carrots and potatoes in a roasting pan (should be under the roasting rack), then put the chicken on the rack.

Notice the mix carrots and potatoes peeping behind the wire rack.

Roasting procedure:

Preheat oven to 250°C /480°F for 15 minutes.

Place the chicken inside the oven and let it roast for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 220°C/425°F, roast for 30 mins. Flip the chicken (to brown the other side) then roast for another 30 mins.

Turn the temperature back to 250°C /480°F then roast for 10 mins (this process should make the skin crispy delicious) after that, flip the chicken again, then roast the other side for another 10 minutes. Let the chicken stand for few minutes before carving.

This is what your chicken should look like: Perfect brown!

So rich in flavor, and the skin was crispy! My husband loved it!

We don't celebrate Thanksgiving day here in our country, but I am sending greetings to my mom and other relatives abroad, so I might as well greet y'all, Happy Thanksgiving!

Roca Needs Love

2011-11-21T07:49:00.001+08:00

Hello there! It's been a long time since I've been here. Some of you may have met me before, but for those who do not know me yet, please allow me to introduce myself.

Hello There!

I am a Shih Tzu, which literally translates to "lion dog". I just turned 11 months and turning legal age (Yay! So excited). I am very lucky to have been adopted and raised by a loving family and even extended family! Yes, my aunts and grannies love me too! You see, in the photo below, I was wearing the pretty dress sewn by my aunt (my mom's sister).

My cousin once tagged me along during a pet parade week at school, wherein I was baptized! Yey thanks! I remember to have worn the fiercest outfit sewn by my granny (mom's aunt). Why fierce? Can't you see, I pretended to be a lion!

Too bad, I wasn't able to convince anyone that I was a lion. *tsk It's not my fault that I've got an angelic face.

Sometimes, I pretend to be a cheerer too! How I wish, my mom have taken a better photo of me wearing my cheerleader outfit because everyone said, I looked hot! LOL!

Notice my calming chair? You might see a lot of "me" sitting on it again because that's how my mom usually tames me whenever I am hyperactive.

And I'm sure, my mom have already mentioned that I once had a blue hair...

My mom dyed my hair when we were preparing for the pet parade to purposely match my cheerleader outfit, sadly, it washed out quite quickly even before the day arrived, probably because my hair was too oily. So we decided to just go for the tiger outfit.

I have always been thrilled to drive, but my papa just wouldn't let me have the key!
I know I can be a little mischievous at times! But please do not mistake that for bratty. My mom would not tolerate such attitude.

Although my papa can be very strict with me, I still love him! And I am the most excited when he comes home from work! When he has parked the car, I usually do this....

I also do that whenever I want to get a glimpse of the ~~Shih Tzu~~ guy next door, Chico ♥

My mom used to tell me a lot about my lineage. She said, our breed originated from crossbreeding a Pekingese and Lhasa Apso. She has also read somewhere that during the British invasion of China, we were almost extinct, leaving only the seven males and seven females. It means that I can actually trace my lineage to one of the endangered 14! Cool trivia, no?

Now that you know a lot about me, can I ask you little favor?

My aunt recently submitted my photo in a photo contest on Facebook. I was wearing the Gothic Lolita dress—a thrift find by my Tita Ja . It fits me perfectly! Though my mom thinks that "me" in that pretty dress deserves a proper shoot. But my aunt was too excited to make me wear the little Gothic dress with the matching mini top hat she made a long time ago—that she didn't even bother to brush my hair in that pic. I still look cute though.

I do not really expect to win, but the anticipation of winning is fun! So I am really asking for your help, it can be done by just a click! This contest runs until the end of this month.

I found an easy way to vote, so you won't have to go through hundreds of entries: (Links all open new tabs)

Like this page first: http://www.facebook.com/dealdozen
Please allow the app: http://apps.facebook.com/dogsofdealdozen/view.php?id=316
Lastly, please click the link again to finally vote for me: http://apps.facebook.com/dogsofdealdozen/view.php?id=316 Yehey!!!

Since there is no way to find out who has voted, I am thanking you all in advance! Once again, my name is Roca, I feel lucky to meet my mom's blogging friends! =)

Blessed Week

2011-11-16T16:09:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday was my hub's birthday. We originally planned to celebrate it intimately with the people at home since we both wanted to save ourselves from the stress of inviting people. Don't get me wrong, but squeezing out time for extra things could be very stressful. But his cousins were so insistent that they would really like to come for his birthday—as some of them were leaving for abroad and two of them have just arrived. So to cut it short, I had to rush to the market the night before his birthday to shop for goods. The whole house was a mess because I was working in front of the computer for long hours. With that said, I was still cleaning the house at the same time cooking a few hours before the guests arrived. If only I took before and after photos of the house including my garden, then you might say, I'm a magician! ;)

We cooked family favorites (from his side) since most of the guests were his relatives. The only "something new" I served was the Pumpkin cake, which I didn't even put a frosting on due to time constraints. We prepared another cake—a store bought one because I doubted if kids would have wanted to eat a pumpkin cake (our guests tagged along a bunch of kids with them). Surprisingly, it disappeared with the store-bought cake right before my eyes. haha And even my daughter, Pristine who's a picky eater appreciated its taste. I would definitely share the recipe next time I make it with frosting on.

Although we were equally tired, it was a fun-filled day for my husband since he bonded with his relatives—enough reason to make me happy too. As usual, we didn't have decent photos together since we were both pretty haggard.

Well, another year older means another year of blessings!

And talking about blessings, my 5th contract in oDesk has started last week. All previous contracts were from the same employer. Even though I started working for her with zero feedback, she never took advantage of it by offering a low pay, which what usually employers do if you do not have any. I always receive a fair offer from her, one after another. But the current project is way bigger than the ones I've worked in the past, so the budget is bigger too! I never really thought I could earn that amount solely from working at home. So I'm really grateful to have met her. Also, in just a week, I've received three invitations from different employers, but I declined two of them since they required many hours of work in a day. I wouldn't want to sacrifice the quality of the work I provide for my existing employer to earn extra. Well, these blessings are just on time for the upcoming holiday spending! hehe

Have a blessed week everyone!

Age to Allow Your Chidren to Go Out with Friends?

2011-11-08T16:28:00.001+08:00

Today, classes have resume here after a week-long semestral break. My daughter had been so excited about the break because she'd been wanting to go out on a movie date with some of her closest peers in the class—and she thought it was the perfect timing to make it happen.

My daughter had approached me several times if she could go watch a movie with her classmates on certain weekends, but my answer had always been a "no". And because some of her classmates were even dropped off by their parents at the mall, I knew she always wondered why couldn't she? But in all fairness to me, I would never say a simple NO—I always try to explain her why, to the best of my ability—initiate a conversation and tell some related stories—and let her weigh the pros and cons in the end. Thankfully, she has always understood.

Don't get me wrong, but I would never allow a 10 year old kid to go in a movie house with friends of her age alone, probably even if she turns 11, 12, 13, 14; at 15—it still depends. I even control what my kids watch on TV. I don't blame the parents from allowing their kids in a movie house though—it's a matter of preference and nobody knows better when your child is ready than you do. In my case, although my daughter is mature enough for some things, I also know that she is still so naive about many things. I always tell her that many things will unfold and happen in their own way and own time; no need to rush things—just let me be your guide.

So recently she asked if she could invite some of her classmates to go swimming. And because I knew, I couldn't always say no, I said yes. But with a but! I told her, the place should be just within the subdivision, so I could supervise them. Knowing my daughter as one who always speaks her mind. She didn't fail to mention that her classmates didn't like adult supervision—that they're kinda timid with parents around, especially me, whom they all thought was a terror mom. So I told her: "no supervision, no swimming". I told her that they are my responsibility because she was the one who initiated it, and that no one wants to be blamed for drowning kids, even if there is a life guard.

So the swimming pushed through..
From the left my niece, Aubrey and next to her is my daughter, Pristine, the rest is her classmates.

The swimming pool is just in our subdivision's clubhouse.

Thankfully, one of them was supervised by a nanny and the other one by a sister, so I was able to sneak out for half an hour to prepare them some snacks.

The swimming started at two p.m and I gave them until six in the evening to enjoy the moment.

While I was waiting for the parents to pick their children up, I started small conversations with the kids to at least break the monster impression. In other words, I befriended my daughter's friends because I wanted them to be themselves even when I'm around. And also for them to treat my daughter nicely simply because she's a nice girl. I know for a fact that she had been bullied twice. And they have seen my face in the principal's office twice for the same reason—probably that's where the monster impression come from. In fact, one of the invited kids once severely bullied her. But I am not one to teach her kids to hold grudge against anyone and always believe in giving second chances, so they have eventually become good friends.

After all the kids are picked up, I hurriedly went home to prepare dinner and do my Odesk job. Whoever says parenting is easy, is definitely crazy. haha But I'm not complaining, it's all worth it since everyone in attendance expressed their enjoyment of the day.

I'm curious, what is the right age to allow your children to go out with friends alone?

Carved Pumpkins

2011-11-05T13:21:00.000+08:00

I've mentioned to my mom that we wanted to do a pumpkin carving activity with the kids before the Halloween, but unfortunately I haven't seen a smooth kind of pumpkin being sold around here—just the rough kind. My aunt said, we can find one in Baguio. So I told the kids, just forget about it, maybe some other time.

My mom together with my step dad carved pumpkins and posted the pics on Facebook for their grandkids.

I think this is the one my mom carved. Still looked nice even if she worked with only one hand—since her other arm is still on cast from her accident last September.

The rest were my stepdad's..

She wanted her grandkids be on Skype for them to see the trick-or-treaters on their doorstep, but we were still snoring that time because we slept late during our Halloween party the night before.

So enough of the Halloween air...

Halloween Party

2011-11-01T18:13:00.000+08:00

We held our Halloween Party last night and it was awesome! Everyone had fun! I was very tired—spent almost two days straight in the kitchen, but it's all worth it.

I was looking for the Halloween loot bags we have had a long time ago, but I couldn't seem to find it. Unfortunately, Halloween goodies and other stuff are really hard to find here, so I wasn't able to buy a replacement. Good thing, I remembered this Halloween loot bag idea I saw somewhere before, if I'm not mistaken, one of Martha Stewart's—so I decided to do it (saving grace).

Halloween sugar cookies - I cut them using a pizza slicer and a small knife because I don't have cookie cutters in those shapes. I used powdered sugar and milk for the frosting—it dried up in less than two hours. I used fondant for the eyes, nose, and mouth.

The graveyard cake I made. Chocolate cake filled with caramel and frosted with buttercream, then covered with fondant.

Scraps from leveling cakes—made them into pudding, then add choco buttercream and caramel for some mud thingy. I used popsicle sticks for the fence, but didn't glue all of them, so kids can use it to spoon out the cake.

Finger spring rolls - hotdogs as nails—I used ketchup to attach it to the spring roll. I wanted to pour ketchup all over them, but my eldest daughter doesn't like ketchup.

Jack-o-lantern pizza - used Shitake mushrooms for making the eyes, nose, and mouth.

Amputated hand pizzas

Ghost pizza

Jello eyeballs - made these the night before. I should have taken a pic when they were still freshly done—they looked a lot better. Irises became somewhat blurry overtime. I used egg trays as molding tray because I couldn't find sphere-shaped ice trays. I placed them in a yakiniku grill—made it look like we're grilling eyeballs. Finished it by pouring Wilton red decorating icing.

Slimy lemonade - I actually dropped some jello eyeballs here, but they all went down even before the shutter was pressed.

I used my DIY cauldron as candy container.

Used my cardboard casket as wafer serving dish for the white chocolate fountain.

My white chocolate fountain was a failure. It didn't really flow well because its consistency thickened and I ran out of milk—I didn't really want to add oil. Kids just dipped their treats the old way—fondue style. haha

DIY Halloween cut-outs on the wall and the spooky tree I made on the table.

My daughters, Pristine and Julianna...

My nephew, Adrian.

My cousin, Trixcel..
You see, even a college freshman begged for some treats. hehe

My sister, Abie...

Julianna again...

My niece, Aubrey...

My niece, Astrid..

Another baby of mine, Roca..

And yours truly, the dead tired vampire planner, baker, and everything. I swear, I looked five years younger two days ago. hehe

Happy Halloween from our gang to you guys!

DIY: Halloween Cut-outs

2011-10-30T00:07:00.000+08:00

Finally, I am done with my Halloween cut-outs. I just used colored papers for most of them since cardboard is really hard to cut.

There are still pencil marks that I didn't bother to erase because it will only show as a smudge.

I used a softer cardboard for this miniature casket—the cardboard I got wasn't black, so I just covered it with black colored paper, and glued a piece of satin fabric inside.

Thinking of making these into garlands rather than attaching it one by one on the wall.

Related Posts:

DIY: Halloween Cauldron

2011-10-28T19:11:00.000+08:00

Do you still play Pet Society? I must admit, I still play the game. hehe I love browsing their virtual stores to look for fancy items that I can buy for my virtual rooms. New items available these days are all Halloween stuff—and I super love it! So that was where I got the idea of making a Halloween cauldron for our upcoming party.

For the Halloween Cauldron I used:

Clay pot: I found an old (it even has a thin crack) one in my ~~trash~~ treasure bin (in my garden) and spray painted them black. Clay pots are cheap, but you can usually find this in plant stores or in the market—and I wanted to save time from going to the said places, so just decided to use an old one.

Stove grate: I borrowed one from our kitchen.

Miniature firewood: again, got these from my garden.

After the paint has dried, I tied an orange ribbon around and glued my flame cut-out at the bottom part of the clay pot.

So there's my Halloween Cauldron. You may fill this with candies or if it's bigger and new, you can use it as container for your Halloween drinks. Hopefully, I will be able to find dry ice to put in there—to create a fume effect.

And because one of my niece was bugging me to make a witch that should be standing right beside the cauldron—I made one. Cut two detachable rectangular pieces of cardboard as support—to make this wicked witch stand on its own feet (wasn't able to take a picture though).

I am posting some other Halloween decor ideas tomorrow. Thank you for swinging by!

Related Posts:

DIY: Spooky Tree

2011-10-28T00:21:00.001+08:00

My daughter Julianna, nephew and niece have had chicken pox since Monday. For that reason, we won't go trick-or-treating this coming Halloween. My eldest daughter got a bit disappointed when she learned about it. So I decided we will have a simple Halloween party at home instead. We usually invite few of our friends when we have something like this, but this time, it'll be limited to people at home—for health reason.

Having said that, I've been busy these past few days making some decors I'll be using for the party. I am almost done with everything. So I'll try my best to make a separate post daily for each decor I have already finished.

For the spooky tree I used:

Crooked branches: these were actually from a dead vining plant in my garden.

Painted them black using spray paint. I intentionally left some spots uncovered.

I made these cut-outs to hang on my spooky tree.

I used blade cutter to cut holes and covered the eye holes at the back with red colored paper using adhesive tape.

I got an old black plastic pot, filled quarterly with soil. Placed stones around to hold the branches in place.

Covered the surface with dried leaves.

I used hot glue to attach cut-outs to the branches.

Finished it by tying an orange ribbon around the pot. So here it is....

Tomorrow, I am posting my DIY Halloween Cauldron. Thanks for stopping by!

Related Posts:

Let's Get it Straight

2011-10-26T03:02:00.001+08:00

This post is brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

My mom has been using Straight Talk for a couple of months now. And she keeps on bragging how much money she saves for switching to Straight Talk. She was even grateful that she didn't have to enter into a contract. No surprise bills and hidden credit charges. Aside from its excellent coverage, Straight Talk only uses LG, Samsung, Nokia, Kyocera, and Motorola. What can be greater than using Smart phones from trusted manufacturers with a smart plan! And with The power of Android, all the apps and games my mom loves is just a click away. Yay! Feel Richer with Android!

They offer "All You Need Plan" with 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts, and 30 MB of web data! On the other hand, their unlimited monthly service costs only $45, which includes text, picture messaging, and even web browsing. My mom even saved more for paying a whole year of service for only $499.00! Even 411 calls are included at no extra cost. It's also free from activation, reactivation, and termination fees. She was able to buy new toys for her grandchildren from the amount she saved. Isn't that impressive?

She sometimes uses the Straight Talk International Long Distance Service, which is a flexible prepaid calling service to call us here. Even though I'm not in front of the computer, we can still have a long conversation without worrying about the bill because of its low rates. They also offer reconditioned phones starting from $10, which is really great for young users!

For more information on what these phone offers, kindly check out this video:

The Straight Talk Image... by LittleBard95

Disney Live: Mickey's Music Festival

2011-10-24T17:22:00.001+08:00

Earlier this October, my fifth-grader went on a school field trip — for the second time, without any chaperon. I wanted to go and tag along her younger sister because part of the itinerary was at the Araneta Coliseum to watch Disney Live: Mickey's Music Festival. But she informed me that outsiders are not allowed to join the trip aside from the chaperon. As usual, she kept on reminding me that she doesn't need a chaperon — that most of her classmates would join without one. I thought she really did well alone last year, so I didn't have second thoughts about allowing her this time. I just told her to bring a camera and her phone so she could contact us when she needs too and vice versa. But knowing how obedient she is to teachers' instructions. She didn't bring any of the two. She told me, teachers would confiscate any gadget. I told her though that teachers just don't want to be responsible for lost belongings of children without companions. It's pretty normal to bring a camera during field trips and phone if outside the school premises. Of course, I really wanted her to have souvenir photos from her trips. So to convince her, I told her: " Let me just talk to your class adviser to let him know that he will not be held liable in case you lost your gadgets." Unfortunately, she still refused.

School buses came two hours later than expected arrival. I received a text message from my daughter using her classmate's phone, telling me that they will arrive late because they were stuck in a traffic jam. When she finally arrived home, she was telling me endless stories about the places they visited. Aside from the Disney show, they also watched a sand art and art light show. They also visited a science center somewhere. She said, she really enjoyed all the shows especially the Disney Live since she have seen more than 25 Disney stars. In the end she told me, she really should have brought a camera because most of her classmates brought either a camera or a cellphone with camera. And none of them got confiscated.

So here are the souvenirs she got from the whole trip...

The free bookmark from Disney Live...

And his teacher gave her the bus seating chart — of course with her name on it. Poor thing.

So I ended the conversation by giving her my famous "I-told-you" look.