The Things I Love

Wife

2015-11-13T22:00:00.001+08:00

I would like to believe that I am a good wife and a friend to JP. I am nowhere saying I am a perfect one. I am so impartient & impulsive it must drive him nuts. I also wear my emotions in my sleeve. No holds barr. What you see is what you get.

A lot of times people say ang swerte ko. Mabait si JP. And he is. He is quiet and strong and efficient. He has a kind heart and it radiates. Everyone who meets him knows this.

Me, I am this noisy can of a person. I say the first thing that comes to mind. A lot of times my mouth is too quick for my mind. I finish other people's sentences a lot. This is irritatating you see? I am impulsive and loud and talkative.

But I would like to believe I am a good person. Within me, I know there's a person who sees the good in other people first before anything else. I make connections easily because I am a matcher. I can forget my own personality just so I can see things your way. It is not that obvious but I have changed a lot (for the better) for my husband.

Tonight, I find it that I am hurt. I refuse ro be a victim of my emotions that's why I acknowldge that this is something that will pass.

But even if these feelings does not follow logic I say they are still valid. And that no one else can keep my heart calm than myself and although that "hey, you're not a perfect wife but allow yourself to get hurt and be difficult everynow and then". All this because while I love my husband no one else can love "me" more than myself.

Me, I am a wife, a mother, a friend, and an imperfect antagonist. All the same I accept me. Broken parts and all.

Montemar Beach Club

2014-05-08T10:37:00.003+08:00

I've lost my blogging mojo. (Urgh. Sorry for the late 90s reference. If I had been more creative I might have thought of another way to describe what I'm going through instead of using an old cliche: Which. Further. Illustrates. The Point.)

(Note: picture formatting will be a little weird. Please bear with me as I am only blogging using my phone. If I blog using my laptop, it would require me to sit upright which I am just. too. lazy. to. do.)

Anyhoo putting my ennui aside it's been a rather pleasant couple of months. What do you know it's almost half a year into 2014. Which brings us summer!

Hot humid lazy days. I used to equate summer with books. Because as a student I couldn't indulge to read the books that I truly like during school season. Summer was when I would read almost a book a day till my head hurts like crazy. But I am mom now. I can't just sit inside my room depriving my kids of the glorious weather.

The first destination this summer is Montemar Beach Club in Bagac, Bataan. I Initially wanted to go south meaning Batangas. But all the resorts that I liked were fully booked. All things considered, I think it was a lucky thing that we ended up here. Let me give the pros to you in a bullet-ed format since I'm too lazy to construct full sentences (see first paragraph why).

Pro:

- Road going to the resort was an easy drive (no rough roads)

- The beach was not crowded considering that it's peak season

- The sand was fine and did not hurt the feet (compared to some Laiya resorts I have been to)

- The resort was well maintained, clean, and the staff friendly

- Another pro is that I couldn't really think of a con (haha!)

Ohbutwait, for those who are thinking of going here just be warned that bringing of food is not allowed. Mineral water is free and breakfast is already included when you pay for the accommodation. The rest have to be ordered through their kitchen. The meals cost around P200-400 per person. So budget will be a consideration if you plan to stay a bit longer. Plus there aren't really outside restaurants nearby so eating out might not be the best option too.

So there, let me tell you about our stay through pictures. :D

Daddy and Sam tired after the trip

We requested 2 additional mattresses for the yayas

Our balcony view

Some pictures of the resort facade. I loved that there's so many greens and trees. Did that sentence make sense? Haha.

The beach. Oh the beach!

There are 3 pools at the resort. One was exclusive to the resort members (or what Jp and I call "the-haves" pool hehe). But we were more than happy already with the blue pool (otherwise known as "the have-nots pool :P). It was surrounded by trees which protected us from the sweltering sun as we swam. :)

Some collage of what the food/kitchen looks like.

Jp and I decided to have a few drinks by the beach. This is what the resort looks like at night.

Next day, there was mass celebrated at one of their function halls. It was one of the best homilies I have ever been to. Hats off to you father! :-)

This is afterall my blog. Hence, some family pictures.

See how clear the waters are:

My favorite picture of the entire quick vacation. Too adorable. :)

There, I almost didn't want to blog about this place as I want to keep it to myself. Haha! As if, that's possible (I am not even a member). Feeling. Seriously though, it's a good homey friendly place. Very ideal for family gatherings and nature-lovers. I'm already planning our return on January. This time with both of our extended families to celebrate our joint (Sam and myself) birthdays!

Hope you are having a great summer too. XOXO.

Contact

Montemar Beach Club Resort
Sitio Pasinay Brgy. Pag Asa Bagac, Bataan
http://www.montemar.com.ph/
Phone: (+632) 811-5496
Email: mbci.online@gmail.com

What a week that i just had

2014-04-28T21:04:00.001+08:00

See, I am no rockstar, or a reigning beauty queen, or a head of state. For me to have that much activity crammed in one week left me disoriented with the flurry of events. Now I will enumerate what I did last week below and you might tell yourself: "nah, that's a pretty standard week for me!"

Having implied at the beginning that I am a nobody an ordinary employed mother of two with routine like clockwork so these things events rarely align themselves in one week. Or perhaps I've had had other days with consecutive stuff happening but none as many awesome events as what I did last week. So yeah, you can pretty much deduce that my life's boring. But heck, I love how ordinary and simple things are in my life. I am in love with my life. Hence, I am blogging this away now to remind me that everynow and then I do get to be the rockstar that I truly am. :-)

Prepare to be bored because this is more for me than for you. =P

Right, let's start with Monday. Me and my teammates decided that it shall be a carbo loading day. We stuffed ourselves with pizza and pasta like there's no tomorrow. Normally, I am very conscious of my carbs intake however, we ate like hungry marathoners then. It was fun to let go just like that. Then that night the whole support group had a telepresence meeting with our boss' boss. Allan who is at New Jersey suited up and met with us to tell us about what has happened and what to expect in the coming months. He recognized our efforts as well as the exciting times ahead for all of us.

Tuesday is to be known as the day I spent in bed and our bathroom in equal parts of the day. Too graphic for me to expound so let's just leave it at that. Oh I got the chance to catch up on my reading though (was I bluer than blue? Not really ha!).

Wednesday was just a truly productive day. Learning-wise I was blown away with what coach Chot Reyes shared with us. One of the best learning sessions I attended in years! He left me totally awestruck. I even got to personally ask him a question. :) This was the day that I also attended a short briefing session because I was one of the few chosen employees (out of 2000) who will attend cocktales with the richest man in Canada. Our company chairman himself! Read below.

All right, then came Thursday which was like one of the highlights of my employment history in Thomson Reuters. Everyone suited up because our Chairman -- 3rd Baron of the Thomson Fleet, Lord David Thomson himself has graced us with a visit. There was an executive townhall attended by at least 700 employees. To say that everyone was moved, inspired, and proud after that event was an understatement. Then about 30-40 of us had the chance to personally meet him at a more relaxed and informal setting. There was good wine, food, laughter, so many group selfies, and even show stoping performances. Truly one of happiest parties I've been to lately.

Friday, was all day strategic planning with our Transactions team at the office. We were rewarded with a buffet at Spirals Sofitel for dinner. Too many food! There was an epic conversation with our Global Head to cap the day.

Saturday morning was spent with the kids at Gymboree, having lunch at Eastwood, then doing the grocery. This is a usual weekend routine. My officemate Mae brought her family at home for a much needed play/swim date. We had impromtu picnic/merienda. They brought so much food. I made egg salad while my sister bought Pancit from a well-known Chinese resto. After stuffing ourselves full it's now time to attend another party! After taking a bath and changing to party clothes we Mae & I headed to Tony Romas. It was another night of good food, wine, and laughter. Truly a time well-spent. After the party I had another few round of drinks with my husband at our favorite little bar called Black Olive.

Early Sunday was spent attending two consecutive masses just to make sure we had a good seat when his Emminence Louis Antionio Cardinal Tagle celebrated mass. It was the feast of Divine Mercy. We headed straight to my in-laws to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. Another event with overflowing food! Haha.

Afterlunch we were so beat that we were already tucked in as early as 8pm. What can I say, a rockstar's life is not easy. But amidst all, my heart is truly thankful. Moments like these validates how blessed I am to have my family, friends, collegues, in this journey. :)

On marriage and having kids

2014-04-10T08:43:00.001+08:00

I have other more 'fun' blog posts in my drafts. Why did I choose to start my morning today on a rather contemplative mode?

Hmm..maybe it's the hormones? Maybe because a very good friend just woke me up to give me a surprising (and happy) news? Maybe it's the APO song playing on the background?

For whatever reason it got me to thinking... Does having children define a great marriage? When I was in college (true story) I had my Values Education teacher walk out on us in class because I engaged her on a debate when she said that the sole purpose of marriage was pro-creation.

I am not trying to offend anyone. This is me thinking out loud. If you have your own set of beliefs which happens to be contrary to my own, I respect it. So I expect you to respect me by not taking anything that I say too seriously (haha!). I mean I am just rambling so if I happen to irritate you feel free to change the url with impunity. Hehe. :)

Alright, I got derailed again. My point is, for three and a half years we were trying to get pregnant. (I know I know 3.5 years is not a long time but if you know how impatient and baby crazy I am then you will understand that it IS a long time :)) I remember going to confession one time and I asked the priest how come hubby and I are still not blessed with a child yet. He said: "The happiest couples that I know don't even have children, my dear."

What followed after that conversation was acceptance. We realized, we'll do whatever means possible medically to get pregnant and if the Lord decides to bless us in another way then so be it. You see we were given less that 10% chances of having a baby by the very first doctor that we went to.

But that story is two parts: First was unwavering faith and acceptance. Second was a deliberate decision from us to take control of the situation and seek medical help. Just like with how everything that life has blessed me so far it's always two fold: The Lord's grace blessing me and my own will taking steps to get closer to what I want.

Now back to my question at the start. Do kids define a great marriage? Yes they can but ultimately they don't.

They give meaning and test your partnership like no other life changing event in your life can. Kids have their own way of turning your world upside down! In a good way though. Totally perplexing and happy way! I can say marriage would require more effort since you don't want to just get stuck on the parenting aspect of your life. I say this because motherhood was very natural for me. Being a great wife, now that takes decision and commitment. But I what makes things easy (and realistic) for me is I don't try to be perfect at these roles. I am not a perfect wife nor mother but I'm sure as hell that I am a fun one! :)

I started picturing a childless marriage back then when we were still trying to concieve. And I was okay with it too. I was happy if things were to stay forever the same. That was weird for a baby-obsessed person like me. But here's how I came into acceptance: God gave me a wonderful life partner. Really, and that's what marriage should be about companionship. We are complete baby or no baby.

Marriage is an institution that should be defined by a mutual decision to accept things that life has to offer together with your partner. Marriage has struggles but don't forget it's supposed to be fun also. So just find the right partner (a faithful, kind, and funny one). And stay committed. :D

Mongolian Stir Fried Rice ala nanay Love

2014-03-18T21:23:00.001+08:00

Okay let me blog this now before I forget. It's one of my cooking experiments that turned out pretty good!

I wanted to cook something very savory since my two babies lost their appetite while they were sick with stomach flu (I mean who wouldn't?). Mongolian is just the right dish for that. They always seem to have entrees that seem to burst in your mouth and punch you in the face (oops maybe delete that second description :P).

What is it about Mongols that seems to err.. Be so feisty! Rawr! Genghis Khan! Rawr! Lands to conquer! Rawr! Spice! Extra rice pa! Rawr! Okay maybe you get the picture na. Heehee.

Let me go straight to the recipe before I get distracted again by my own wit and humor. Ahem! :)

Ingredients:

Around 4-5 cups of cooked rice

400 - 500g of good quality beef tenderloin strips (cut into bite sizes)

Red onions thinly sliced

Red bell pepper thinly sliced

Carrots thinly slided

1 can of corn kernels (I only put half of what's in the can since I ate the other half haha)

1 small can of button mushroom

1/4 cup: honey, oyster sauce, sweet chilli sauce

Cayanne pepper (optional)

Beef bullion

Salt & pepper to taste

Procedure:

1) Boil the beef in a small amount of water (just enough to slightly cover them - read: hindi naman pang nilaga levelz - just enough water para lang lumambot)

2) Let the water evaporate and add a bit of oil to brown the beef. Set aside.

3) Saute the red onion, carrots, and red bell pepper in the oil. Add the beef bullion

4) Add the mushroom and corn kernels. Saute for 2-3 minutes until they get happy together. :)

5) Then add the equal parts: honey, oyster sauce, and sweet chilli sauce. Add a little bit of salt and pepper (para masaya!)

6) Add the rice and mash it with the sauce like there's no tomorrow! (My hubby kindly volunteer to pre-mash the rice prior to it being added to the pan - this is what you do to the rice when you prepare sinangag)

Note:

Mothers, another optional ingredient pala that I used is sesame oil. I used about a tablespoon of it mixed with a few drizzles of olive oil when I sauteed the veggies. The sesame oil adds that extra oomph. Although be careful not to use too much of it because it can be quite overppwering on the dish. :-)

Happiness yan friends. Trust me. Try na! Sorry I have no actual photo of the finished product. Na excite kameng lahat masyado to eat it. The rice just smelled so heavenly!

PS:

Why don't you cook this recipe and take a pic so I can add it to this blog entry. Hehe.

PPS:

I decided to make this dish again this weekend since hubby liked it so much. So I now have photos to show yah! :-)

Pictures below:

Some of the ingredients from my pantry-

Finished product (it tastes better than it looks!)

Toodles! :D

For Sam

2014-01-17T20:30:00.001+08:00

You know what if there's one person na lugi because I have not been blogging anymore... it's really Sam.

My always happy 2nd baby. This blog was started out of pure love slash obsession for our son Eli. I wanted an avenue where I can freely shout to the world how much that boy makes my heart melt.

And then I fell in love all over again when our "surprise" baby came into this world. And then life got so busy. And then I got lazy.

So lazy that I was content to just keep sharing my thoughts over facebook or instragram. But man! I'm missing out. Really the fact that I have not been recording my thoughts recently kinda makes me wish I can time travel and document everything right after they happened. Just because so many fun stuff happened last year. But yeah, I just became lazy.

But document now I will. There's me and hubby's 6th wedding anniversary. Sam's 1st birthday. So many wonderful ordinary days ought to be relieved and retold not for anyone else's benefit but just solely for me. Yes just me. (The cruel world does not care about the adventures of an ordinary mom but whatevs someday I know I will re-read my words with a smile.)

You see, another thing is I have not over expressed yet is my love to our baby daughter.

For Sam:

Hi anak. The moment I saw you I said to myself: Yes! May bago na akong best friend! Haha. You see your mom is a secret introvert. It's a secret since I'm loud so peope automatically assume that I make friends easy. On the contrary, I only have a few handful (really super great) people whom I consider true friends. They are the ones I truly trust. I don't have a big barkada or posse (or whatever you call them these days).

So nung nakita kita alam ko na agad. Instantly sabi ko I've gained my lifelong bestfriend. You we're so cute with lips so lucious and red like a princess! You were the nicest baby. Motherhood is hard anak especially in beginning but you made the journey easy for me.

All you needed was to smell mommy, my milk, and you're a happy camper. Now, you just turned 1. You made life so happy for me, daddy, and your kuya. You can get a bit hard headed especially right before you go to sleep. Alam mo yun, papikit ka na and you will purposely shake yourself para mawala antok mo. Hay!

You have so many endearing qualities. Anyone who meets you immediately knows na you're a happy baby. You are very generous with your smile and laughter. Keep on growing lang baby. Never ever lose that spark. Never stop believing that this world is a paradise because whatever it is you decide to pursue we'll support you promise yan.

I love you Sam. I am so blessed to be your mommy.

Sunny Sunday at Milky & Sunny, Kapitolyo

2013-10-27T15:09:00.001+08:00

Hehe, sorry for the lame post title. Totoo namang sunny e at Sunday din! #explain

Sharing lang ito friends not an actual review. I can't say I want to rave about the place but I will not discourage you either. I mean, this is just my experience. You could have a completely different experience or taste kaya if you're thinking of trying Milky & Sunny I would say today is as good as any day to try it out.

I gravitate toward restos that serves comfort and breakfast food. One of the restos na super binabalik balikan namin ni Jp is really Pancake House. We're easy to please. His is Salisbury Steak while mine is their pan fried chicken. We always (MUST) have their cheese waffle for dessert. Ayan staple na yan samin and we've been in the quest for more breakfast homey restos. While I am at it... Whatever happened to Heaven n' Eggs? That place used to be cool eh?

Oh well, but I digress. Long story short, although I cleaned my plate I don't think we're coming back anytime soon. Okay naman sya, but just okay. Yah know what I mean? It just didn't blow me away. Or maybe we just ordered the wrong food? But anyway, I have a funny story later in the middle so please read on.

After ng Mass, we got super hungry. We were contemplating on going to IHOP but realized it's too far from PICC where we heard Mass. Since we live near Kapitolyo and after me reading some stunning reviews about this resto whilst the hubby was driving we decided to give it a try.

This sign will great you.

And here's me (sans make up - bagong gising effect) and hubby na kakulay ng pader.

Here's the funny story: hubby's order was the big breakfast where you can choose 3 from any of the following - bacon, sausage, hotdog, spam, and corned beef. He wanted sausage sana kaso out of stock daw. So he contemplated on getting the corned beef. I asked ate waitress: "Ate what kind of corned beef do you use?" I mean I don't know what I was expecting right? Well, siguro naisip ko baka homemade or "Batangas cow po, tapos we make in house" yung tipong ganun. Ate answered: "Yung Purefoods po sa lata." Hehe. She was so honest. I love it.

K fine. Di ka natawa? Ok lang. Hehe. :P

Anyway moving on. Hubby chose: hotdog, spam, and bacon. The big breakfast platter has hashbrown, egg (choice of sunny side up or scrambled), garlic rice (which you can either have toast or bagel). Cost: P270. I tasted everything on his plate. I love the hashbrown. :-)

I got their Hamonado Longganisa (P130) with garlic rice and egg (again you can either choose scrambled or sunny side up). Their longganisa was delicious! Plus the egg was nice and fluffy.

Sweets. Strawberry Milkshake (P140). Yummy also. Sorry I know I should be more creative in describing this. Hmm... It tastes more like a sherbet than a shake. Which is a good thing actually. Very strawberry tasting.

Strawberry cream cheese pancake (P170). Their pancake is thick and fluffy. Mas fluffy nga sa pancake ng Pancake House. But I can't say that I liked this better. We didn't even finish this. Bihira lang yan ha usually PG kami when it comes to dessert. Naumay ako sa sobrang dami ng heavy strawberry syrup. It would be better if they just use real strawberries.

The service was quite slow. Maybe they were understaffed but there were only a few of us eating that time so I'm not sure why. But I liked the ambiance of the place. I took more photos below. Try it out if you're fond of breakfast food. Skip the pancake and maybe just order the chicken & waffles. :-)

Milky & SunnyPasig

9 East Capitol DrKapitolyo, Pasig(02) 654-2049

Challenge Completed: Ultimate Wingsanity

2013-10-07T23:52:00.001+08:00

This is one proud wife moment. My husband has conquered Ultimate Wingsanity 2.0 challenge! Haha!

Okay I need to give a little back story here. Sorry masyado lang na excite. Hehe. Okay the hubby is obsessed with all things spicy. The hell-hath-no-fury-spiciness level. He likes hurting himself that way. He came across a blog post bragging about conquering the Ultimate Wingsanity challenge by Buffalo Wings n' Things.

So off we trekked to Ortigas home depot so hubby can try apparently the spiciest wings in the metro. Me, I am happy to settle with a basket of fries and the kid-friendly garlic Parmesan wings. Which were yummy by the way. Oh but let me tell you about the evil spicy wings.

The Ultimate Wingsanity wings meal is under the "Waiver Required" section of the menu. You literally have to sign a waiver before you can consume the wings. The flavors Gangnam Style, Total Wingsanity, and Ultimate Wingsanity have a Scoville Heat Unit measurement of 650k, 750k, and 850k, respectively! It is likened to eating one tablespoon of siling labuyo - raw. All spicy evil goodness - if you dare.

The challenge is to consume the Ultimate Wingsanity in five minutes without drinks or ice cream. Once completed you will be given a certificate of recognition. Plus they will put your picture on their 'Wall of Fame'.

Okay so eto na, as a form of motivation I was psyching the hubby:

Me: Bee, meron sa wall of fame mga babae. Quite a few of them. (Actually isa lang). Tapos bee, meron din dun Grade 6 lang! (In reality I'm not even sure kung Grade 6 sya or maybe payat lang sya at mukhang bata hehe)

Okay so anyway I think it worked because hubby put his game face on and thought of a strategy na. He separated the bones from the meat before starting. This would mean faster consumption and lesser time for the spice to spread in his mouth. Also, he ate the meat part first before the skin which is where the concentration of the hotness is located.

Ang ending: Cool na cool lang si hubby. Akala mo cotton candy lang kinakain e! Haha. Exxag. But really true talaga promise si ate waitress kept exclaiming: "Si sir parang wala lang! Cool na cool lang si sir!"

This further boosted hubby's ego at pinanindigan nya na ang pagiging cool as a cucumber nya. Binuhos pa nya yung mga natirang dripping ng sauce from his plate to ensure na matikmam nya yung todong anghang. Here he is:

Ayan sya sinisimulan na ang kalbaryo nya.

He separated the meat from the bones and consumed all the white meat first.

Finishing the last few morsels na nakadikit sa bones. Exterior cool na cool. Internally, ayan o, labas na ugat sa noo! Lol.

Ayan! Challenge completed! Pulang pula.

Kering keri lang daw hee hee.

Here he is getting his picture taken after consuming half a pound of wings with 800,500 Scoville Heat Units! Yey baby!

PS: This New York Cheesecake ice cream is the best! Plus it is perfect for those who just finished consuming the wings from hell. Haha.

Go na try mo narin!

Buffalo Wings n' Things

Food Street, Ortigas Home Depot, Pasig City

451-1260

Thoughts on Social Media

2013-10-02T11:31:00.001+08:00

Three people influenced me to write this post. My husband, Topaz Horizon (a blog I frequently read), and a friend in Facebook.

Let me tell you first what each of them thinks before I tell my thoughts around this. Hubby is ever so worried about the culture around Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc and that it perpetuates materialism and vanity and that it might ultimately rub off on our kids as they grow up. He asked me if we should "ban" our kids from creating a facebook account all through out their highschool life? Would this be fair to them? Would this stop some of the possibly negative effects that social media has to influence them?

Topaz Horizon fears that social media makes you crave for attention. It's like you have to ask people to like you. And how sometimes it affects your self-esteem negatively of nobody "liked" your posts. How it makes you want to beg people to like your choices in food, clothes, travel destination, and so on. Will it make your choices less enjoyable if no one else think that they "like" the food you're eating at the moment?

A friend posted in Facebook said that social media promotes a culture where we all feel like celebrities, "me-attitude", disregarding the opinion of others or even those who are currently in an unfortunate situation. She also states the issue of lack of privacy which used to be treated as a vital aspect of a person's life.

These are only three perspective from three different people. I'm sure you have a say around this topic also and I'm sure it is equally important. I am not here to address any of the points above. To me all of them made a valid point. But will that stop me from engaging in social media activity? No. This blog alone is a testament that I like to share. For whatever purpose I do so is something I need not make anyone understand. What I do through various social media vehicles is something that I do just because. If you interpret it as being materialistic, boastful, shallow it is up to you. On the otherhand, if it made you smile, say my picture of freshly baked cake or cookie inspired you to bake as well then it's all good.

I have the capacity to always embrace change. I have long accepted that social media has forever changed the dynamics of people's relationship and our culture. My husband's concern is perhaps something that rings closest to my heart because it involves my kids. But you know what regardless of the choices they make, I trust in the kind of person that they are. That regardless on how the world sees their actions deep within I know they will be good people. Social media or not good parenting is still the best tool against any changing times.

Parenting and letting them know God. That in the grand scheme of things we are who we are because of God's love.

I guess my message is that of acceptance. Even if a person shares so many things through social media I still believe that that is merely a tip of who they are so let's not judge and just enjoy the ride.

Anyway that's what "hide in newsfeed" or "unfollow" feature is for. :-)

Sana Dati: Not a Movie Review

2013-10-01T10:18:00.001+08:00

Hi my name is Love. And movie dates for me are composed of eating out at any new resto in town plus seeing a Hollywood blockbuster film or sometimes (super rare) the husband gives in to a Star Cinema formulaic rom-com (konting konti lang yang napanood naming Philippine movie around 3 or 4 and no hindi ako nagpapaka defensive lol).

Anyhoo, wala pa as in wala pa akong napanood na Star Cinema movie na hindi bumaba ang IQ ko after watching it (except OTJ but then again that's not rom-com). No offense (pero alam naman nating ma-o-offend parin ang mga Star Cinema die-hards haha) - oh well. Blog ko to. So shoo. The Mistress tried. Tried but still failed. I mean who the F says those lines in real life? Tapos John Lloyd delivering lines in straight English pero halatang minemorize. Oh shucks. I must shut up. This blog entry is not for those rants. Pero eto na last na talaga. Yang My Amnesia Girl. Pinuno ng Post-It ang buong kwarto. First thing that came to mind was shet sayang sa trees! Stalker ang peg! Sinong maglilinis?! Who the hell has that free time? If that was me hindi ako kikiligin baka nag walk out ako at pabayaran ko sa kanya yung pag papa repaint ng kwarto ko e. LOL

What I hate is how rom coms screw up real everyday love. That there always has to be grand gestures just to show someone you love them. Na dapat mang-hassle ka ng mga kabarkada mo or people at the airport just so you can have one brave declaration of love. Hindi ka ba mapupulmunya nun pag nagsayaw ka sa ulan?

Love in reality is found in the ordinariness and being able to stand by your decision to exercise constant small acts of kindness no matter how simple they may be. That conflicts and deep hurts are not resolved through one big dramatic confrontation and shouting match. It is through constancy and companionship. Your decision to be steadfast amidst some challenges along the way.

For Jp and I, love is through the quiet conversations that we have before sleeping on how our day went. It is through marvelling how God has been so good to us. And in sometimes me choosing not to say something anymore because I know it will be hurtful to my husband. Or my husband's patience when I am just about to loose it.

Don't get me wrong. Love is still supposed to be fun. No issue being romantic loveydovey but really why does it have to be glorified in the movies all the time?

So now to my topic. The credits were already rolling. And snoot and silent tears were still pouring like buckets. Never has a movie affected me this much. Not because the actors were in tears urging me to cry with them. It tugged me in a powerful way because of the deeper layer that the movie communicated to my heart. The smallness of the emotions. That emotions are not meant to be found in just poetic loud dramatic confrontations. That love expressed through tentative gestures and open abandon are still equally evocative.

The movie is perfectly cast and acted out. The soundtrack is amazeballs. I shall stop talking about it now because it is quite obvious that I do not know how to do a proper review. But go watch it. This moview is a rarity.

A rarity that we must support to somehow make a statement. That this movie is an art. It hides more than it reveals. But you'll see yourself one way or another through one of the characters. And what it hides and reveals is something really really beautiful.

Celebrations: Sam is 9 months

2013-09-30T07:29:00.001+08:00

Exactly 3 months from now Sam will turn 1. Grabe talaga ang first year ng baby. It flies by so fast. Kasi each month is such an adventure. To say they grow up really fast is an understatement.

I am in awe watching my kids grow. It doesn't matter that Sam is already my second. Everything still feels like the first time. Different child different adventure believe me.

I feel guilty that I haven't written much about Sam in this little blog that I have. Oh but let me tell you, I fell in love (so deep) with this little baby. She is such an absolute joy. A happy baby so easily contended.

Really. She's the easiest, happiest, and sweetest baby there is. Never naging maselan. She's breastfed and now she eats anything we give her. Veggies, fruits, bread, anything. My MIL said try daw namin pakainin next week ng alimango kung hindi parin tatanggi. Haha. I bet you she'll eat those as well.

She adores her kuya so much and follows him around wherever he goes. To her kuya Eli is the most interesting person there is. Even more interesting than dad or mom. Her eyes are always fixed at kuya and she tries to imitate mostly what kuya is doing. Kaya ang drama nila ngayon is agawan ng toys hehe.

For Sam's 9th month birthday, kiddie party ang peg ng handa ko: spaghetti bolognese, pork bbq, my famous moist chocolate cake, and mama's sumptuous caldereta.

Here are some pictures of Sam's 9th month celebration.

The Cake. This is my go-to chocolate cake recipe that does not use egg. The frosting is buttercream with cocoa powder with whipped cream (to make it light and less sweet - recipe from my bestfriend Joy). It tastes much better than it looks promise.

The spaghetti and bbq.

Here we are with Sammy baby. She so precious. We just love her so much. :-)

Ain't she the cutest? :-)

No Such Thing As Supermom

2013-09-25T22:29:00.001+08:00

Or superkids either.

Grabe ka competitive ang buhay ngayon. There's natural parenting. Homeschooling. Breastfeeding beyond 2yo. Baby wearing. Cloth diapering. Madami pa actually. Sometimes I think some parenting police is out to get me because there are days when I let Eli watch something as mundane and nonsense as Spongebob. When I let Sammy eat ice cream. When the kids stay up too late. Etc. etc.

Any moment now I feel the judging stares of the supermoms out there. And then it hit me. Sino ba ang perpektong magulang?

At our core (struggling good parents I mean) we all just want the same basic things for our children. That they find contentment on the kind of person that they chose to be.

I cannot promise to raise the most talented or smartest kids there are. However, I promise to love them unconditionally and accept them for who they are. Super cliche ba? Yes well, I just need to remind myself that.

Hindi importante kung ako ba ang pinaka magaling na nanay there is. Hindi importante na una sa lahat ng bagay ang mga anak ko. But when it comes to compassion, becoming a positive person and self-reliant while respecting others dyan sila mgangunguna.

Dito ako masaya sa pagiging imperfect kong nanay. Because everyday I am learning. Everyday there's a sense of wonder. And everyday I am ever so thankful that hubby and I were blessed with the children that we have.

:-)

Yedang: underrated and awesome

2013-09-24T10:15:00.001+08:00

I have become lazy. So lazy that I cannot even get up from my bed and type on my laptop anymore. Smartphones and tablets further perpetuated this cycle of sloth (wake up, check fone, feel sleepy, sleep, repeat step 1).

Anyhoo, why am I blogging again? 2 reasons completely unrrelated.

1) A friend asked me via facebook why I wasn't blogging anymore. And my thought bubble was like: "Really? Someone reads my blog?" So now I am sure I have 3 readership ha! (Hello husband, sister, and friend. Hee hee) Sure it is fun to write. But knowing that someone reads my nonsensical thoughts gives me "kilig" to no end. Lols.

2) I realized I can blog using my iPhone. That means no need to get up from the bed anymore just to blog. Yey! What did I tell you? Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

With that I officially end my blogging break. Fireworks. None? K. Fine. :-)

So last Friday was a special day because it was Kyle's 1st birthday (my friend Mae's baby boy). We spent the afternoon with the kids at Virlanie foundation. I baked about ten thousand chocolate cupcakes see below (of course I exaggerate haha it was around 50pcs).

I gained raving fans again for my heavenly cupcakes (I like to toot my own horn - obviously). But seriously, though my chocolate cupcakes have some kind of a cult following already. By cult I mean a group of random kids somewhere across the metro raving that my cupcakes are the best they've tasted. Haha!

Okay, so where was I? It was a super fun and tiring day. So the hubby and I decided to go on a date. I suggested Yedang because it's been a long time since we last ate there. For me it is one of the most underrated but good resto around town. And cheap too. Also, I think another reason why their meat tastes good after cooking is that they use good old uling. For some reason mas masarap ang bbq na cooked through charcoal kesa electric grills. Agree? Tapos you can bet that is authentic because its owner is Korean.

But again the food. The food and service are both excellent. Each table has its own exhaust (para di ka amoy bbq after heehee). Let me show you pictures.

Free appetizers. (Dito palang solve na ehehe)

This was my favorite among the 8 or 9 free appetizers which was served. This, and the kimchi of course. ;-)

Someone will assist you in cooking the meat.

Once cooked you wrap the meat in a lettuce (it was fresh and crisp) put some chilli sauce and spiced olive oil some onions and garlic then, viola! One of the most enjoyable food I've ever eaten. (I mean you know you're eating meat but then again it is wrapped in lettuce so that kind of takes away the guilt right? Right?)

And this OMG. Their beef soup. Is. To. Die. For.

Yey, and there's a free pineapple for dessert.

Our meal was around P900 only. Sulit. Plus I loved their pandan water.

Yedang Korean BBQ Restaurant

88 Meralco Ave., Pasig City

telephone: 636-1461

PS: Sorry for the poor quality of pictures. Or maybe not. I'm not sure whether they are okay or awful. I want to put a #nofilter on every photo just to explain haha. I am still a bit rusty trying out this blogging thing from my phone. Cheers. Till my next post! :-)

Samuelle's Baptismal Day Kwento and Supplier's Feedback

2013-03-19T00:50:00.001+08:00

In my past life I used to be a blogger. I used to be able to share my feeling openly as I did here, and share random stuff much like here, or maybe even make someone laugh by sharing mundane stuff like here.

But I have become too preoccupied with life, a toddler, the baby, breastfeeding, and being a wife to ever have time to sit down and chatter away. I find that sad though as writing used to be such an outlet for me. And not being able to write could be a sign of a tired and weary soul. Or maybe just pure laziness or whatever.

Looking back, the ever highly popular posts are stories about the parties I've organized for my baby boy. His rockstar themed party here, and the all time high in traffic count would be his Jollibee kiddie party (click here to read that). I'd like to believe I am helping a mom or two out there looking for some ideas and feedback for a supplier that they are thinking of getting. I should know, because I spent my first post partum days lurking at so many mommy blogs reading away their stories about their own events.

It's a bonus factor too that I can easily just look back and read my entry and be reminded of how lovely the day was. And that is what March 10, 2013 was all about. Love. Love overflowing.

Let me tell you about the day through pictures. Also, I'll try to be as detailed as I can to help out mommies out there trying to research about the suppliers below.

1) Newborn Photography: Nice Print

Got this via ensogo deal. Package I think is originally 4k but only paid about 1.5k. It includes numerous prints. There was even one large print with frame. They also gave us all the soft copies on the spot and the edited pictures three days later. Eli our first born had his newborn pictures taken by Stork Studio. I can tell you now that there's a difference given that newborn photography naman talaga ang specialty ng Stork Studio. Truly, there's a reason why almost triple the price ang Stork Studio. So for me, to compare Nice Print sa Stork Studio would be unfair. Ibang league sila e. Although, I am fairly satisfied naman with Nice Print. I did not expect ng sobrang bongga and I got what I paid for. Plus, cute naman si baby so carry na. Haha! So advice lang, if gusto nyo talaga ng truly bongga and willing naman mag shell out ng extra bucks go for Stork Studio. However, if you just want a simple picture, no frills, with decent editing and prints okay na ang Nice Print.

2) Baptismal Ceremony Venue: Sta. Clara de Montefalco

Initially I was having reservations if I will book this church because they do not offer special baptism. I tried and tried to convince the persons on the booking department to allow us to have a special baptism but di gumana ang aking convincing powers. I really wanted to have the baptism at this church because this is our parish church, this is where we hear mass every Sunday, plus it's only 5 minutes away from our condo's clubhouse where we will have our reception. So goodbye na sa kaartehan and we decided to just book to have our baptismal rites here. The seminar started at around 10:10am and ended an hour after. It was held sa basement ng simbahan. Super init! So make sure you bring pamaypay, or electric fan kung carry nyo haha. After that, the baptismal rites were held na at the actual church. Although there were 19 babies na bibinyagan (ang dami!), the entire service did not last very long. The cost is just very minimal (sorry I forgot na how much) and I liked that there was a free white over garment na and candles for the parents and godparents. The candles are huge ha. So overall I am quite happy we decided to have the ceremony here instead. For one, di na kami lumayo and the church was lovely. See below.

3) Reception Venue: Riverfront Residences Clubhouse Function Hall

No brainer ang decision na ito because for one we live here hehe. It was so convenient for us to choose this as our venue. I decided against this being our venue for Eli's rockstar party because I figured it is hard to dress up the venue to suit the theme. However now, since it is just a baptism party theres not much tweaking needed for the venue. The function hall is quite spacious, has a lot of natural light, and cozy enough to make our guests feel comfortable. Super sakto lang sya for the occasion and our number of guests (about 120). Anything more than 150 siguro would be masikip na. There might be a different cost if you are not a resident. If you are considering this to be your venue, just call our PMO to inquire. I did not even dress up the venue anymore but overall it still looked great. :)

3) Catering: Verleo

One's food provider will make or break an event. That's why super na OC ako sa paghahanap ng caterer with good feedback but is still affordable. There were many positive feedbacks kay Verleo so I decided to give them a try. I had my menu custom made: Japanese fried rice, Korean chapchae, ox tongue steak, fish fillet with asparagus & XO sauce, mixed vegetables, sushi bar, and a halo halo station. For the kids: baked spaghetti, chicken lollipops, and plain rice. I shall not reveal the price however, I can tell you now that it was very, very reasonable. Tasted the food myself (liked the rice, chapchae, and baked spag the most) and also based sa feedback ng guests they told me that the food was great. Although for me the mixed vegetables was a bit bland so I suggest get another viand for your veggies instead. We also bought additional food: laing and lechon. There was no corkage fee. The waiters (especially the head waiter) were very attentive to the guests needs. Also ang galing nila ha, imagine I only paid for 100 heads and more than 130 guests came (wala ng nag a-R-SVP iilan lang! okay, moving on. happy naman talaga ako that many people came) plus the crew pa of my other suppliers and everyone was still able to eat. There were some leftovers pa which they packed. They rightfully deserve the positive buzz they are getting. Kudos Verleo! (Tip lang: wag mag rely sa RSVP, in our case kahit in the end may leftovers pa medyo stress parin na baka maubusan ng food. In my opinion, mas okay na sobra kesa kulang. Buti nalang we had jumbo lechon and laing. If not for those baka nagkulang na food. You can also bring extra 1.5 softdrinks which they will serve on top of the ones that is included sa package. Bumili kme ng extra cases of variety of softdrinks kaso we forgot ibaba sa kotse. Fail. Amp! Hehe.)

4) Souvenirs for godparents: St. Paul's

I decided to buy simple trinklets for the godparents. I gave crystal rosaries for ninangs, and 3D Mother Mary frame for the ninongs. Just a little something to let them know that we truly appreciate them for being part of our lives. The wrapping was lovingly made by yours truly. #andamingoras :D

5) Souvenirs for guests: Flowers of Hope for Jewelyn

I decided to get my souvenir from tatay Rolando after reading mommy Neva's blog post. This made the souvenirs extra special in my opinion. Read up about Jewelyn and I hope her story will inspire you as well.

6) Mobile Studio: Picture!

Ayan masyadong direct to the point ang kanilang company name: Picture! Mobile Studio. Hehe. We originally booked another supplier for our photobooth. However, we attended a friend's wedding last Feb 09. Kakaiba ang set up may kama at higa higa factor. Also we liked the quality of the printed pictures (walang pores!). After much consideration (and me pleading to the husband na pumayag sya), I decided to blow off the deposit I originally made for another photobooth and book these guys instead. I made the right call! :D Effort naman talaga, imagine they brought so many props (bed, crib, a granny chair plus many more). And in fairness it was something fairly new. Every party I've been to has photobooth na (medyo may umay factor na ng slight: sorry no offense meant). I'm sure mauuso na rin itong mobile studio eventually so I'm happy our guests got to experience it while medyo bago-bago pa sya. I highly recommend them super for a different kind of experience. Charina is very professional and easy to talk to. She's very receptive of my ideas and suggestions while giving also her expert opinion. They really captured the look I was going for based on the peg that I sent them. Good job to this team!

7) Candy Buffet: SweetyKs

Tita Kate made Sam's candy buffet. It was so lovingly made. The details were quite awesome. She followed my color scheme to a T. Everyone kept coming back for the sweet stuff. Kate is just starting with her business but I am sure she will go a long way judging by how great she delivered during Sam's baptism.

8) Sound System: Bluehive Lights and Sounds

I realized I had no picture of these guys. Very reasonable price. Equipments and song selections were up to date. Jason was a little bit missing in action the day before as he failed to reply to my texts. Understandable naman because they had an event pala the night before. Medyo makulit lang talaga ako when it comes to reminding my suppliers. I suggest there's no harm in triple checking your suppliers (it pays to be OC and makulit).

9) Cake: Estrel's Caramel Cakes

This cake was ninong Keith and tita Cookie's gift to Sammy. Estrel's happens to be one of my favorite cakes in the whole wide world. It's not so sweet. For me eto ang parang J.Co ng cakes hehe. Yun nga lang they only do pre-order and pick up. During holidays (Christmas, Mother's Day, etc.) I suggest order at least a week or two in advance. Sometimes they don't accept orders na pag sobrang dami na ang naka order plus always busy ang kanilang phonelines (sila na ang mabenta). Notice nyo rin sa ASAP tuwing meron artistang may birthday sure yun meron Estrel's. Tee hee. Sila na! :)

9) 2nd Cake: 16th Heaven

Our second cake is also a gift, this time from tita Yeda. She makes delicious, beautiful, and most importantly affordable theme cakes. Check out her FB site.

10) Invitations and Thank You Card: Storybook.ph

Initially I contacted SirioPrints because they were the ones that printed Eli's invitations before. It is so easy to transact with them. When I texted the number of SirioPrints I have, they said na Storybook.Ph na sila. Eto subok ko na talaga to. Even though, they are a bit more expensive than other suppliers I canvassed I decided to go for them kasi konti lang naman difference plus sure ko na di glossy yung paper na gagamitin nila. The paper is sturdy. Printing quality is great also. All communication was done via email lang, so very convenient.

11) Co-organizers, ushers, hosts, etc.: Team Sammy

To get rid of my initial post partum blues, I immersed myself in planning Sam's baptismal party. I gave birth Dec 29 and by 2nd week of January I have booked almost all my suppliers already (excited much). Last minute into the preparation, I realized I wanted it to be more organized as in with seating arrangement, programs, the works. Everything would not be as smooth if not for my friend Dianne, Kate, and the friends of my sister (they call themselves Magic4, artista ata sila. chos). Ninong Keith and tita Cookie were the hosts. Ethel was in charge of our reception. Tin and Cha were the ushers, and they were also in charge of the mobile studio and buffet queuing. Kate, aside from supplying the candy buffet, was also overseeing the set up. Dianne was in charge of the overall program and the details that I might have overlooked. Love ko sila, they really helped a lot.

Tip: It really pays to be OC. Hire trusted suppliers. Read up feedback from blogs, forums, etc. Be very clear what you want out of your suppliers. I decided to print coloring pages for the kids so they have something to do as it could get pretty boring for them. Kahit masakit sa ulo it pays to have a general seating arrangement so that hindi magulo for the guests. Lastly and most importantly, be nice to your providers especially the waiters. If you asikaso them they will asikaso your guests back. I ordered Jollibee breakfast for them since 7:30am pang nag se-set up na sila for our lunch reception. Make sure you have extra water/beverages for them. Give them tips if they did a good job.

I am happy with how everything turned out. We are super touched by everyone who came. Until now more than a week after I can't help but still smile when I look back.

Welcome to the Christian world to our dear Sammy! We love you very very much our sweet sweet baby. :)

Just wanted to say...

2013-02-14T21:28:00.001+08:00

that you Jp, are the love of my life. Nothing in this world can ever change that. Take comfort in knowing that in this lifetime you have been truly and honestly loved. Thank you for choosing to forgive me during times I should have said sorry first but I didn't. Thank you for embracing me tighter during times you realized you have married an imperfect woman filled with insecurities and fears.

May you never forget how much we make each other laugh. May we never let complacency make our relationship dull. Most importantly may we never ever make pride get the best of us.

What a beautiful life we have for together we are complete.

This day, I realized I should always strive to be kinder to you more than to anyone else. And if sometimes I fail, please love me and I'll realize it soon enough, I promise.

Loving you is as natural as everyday. And there is nothing in this world that I look forward to than spending the rest of my days with you.

Your wife,
Love

Guest Post: Why you should consider investing first, then work on that business idea next

2013-02-10T08:39:00.002+08:00

Below is my husband's second installment on his series of entries on personal finance. I tell you, I have never seen anyone as passionate as him when it comes to spreading the benefits of investing and securing one's future. He says it's his personal advocacy. He gets nothing out of it but he takes pleasure in knowing that he can possibly influence at least one person out there to be more financially savvy. We are not yet 100% financially secure but I must say our family is on our way there by having my husband as our leader. I admire his tenacity and passion beyond words. And I am willing to follow him to the ends of the world (insert cheesy Valentines song here haha). Okay enough of my nonsense and let's get on with pure logic and genius. Go ahead, I promise it will be worth you time.

Note: to read his first entry on stock investing click here.

Guest Post:

Pursuing a side income entails a lot of time and effort. Of course capital is also needed, but if you have a regular job then that should no longer be an issue. Anyway, I know of one which only entails time. That is by investing. But more on that later.

As you may have known already, side income can be obtained ultimately in three ways

Working extra

Putting up a business

Investing

By working extra, you can work overtime, put up an online store, get into real estate and connect buyers to sellers, provide service to others, etc. What is common among these examples is that the extra income comes only if you provide extra time and extra effort.

By putting up a business, you painstakingly setup, fine-tune, and run a system of business processes. After some time, even if you do not provide extra time and effort, the side income still comes. That is because after all the initial hard work you have done to set the business up, it is now self-sustaining.

By investing, you only need a capital. You only need to set aside a portion of your income and put that portion in an investment vehicle.

Now here is the kicker: which one among the three above-mentioned items can you setup right away with the least amount of effort? If today is a Friday, which one can have you all set by Monday?

Say you decide to put up an online store. You will have to setup the website, procure the items that you will sell, and market your product. That’s it and you are done. But afterwards, you will still have to spend extra time and exert extra effort in dealing with buyer queries, settlement of payments, and logistics solutions to deliver your product. There is a constant additional time and effort involved.

Setting up a self-sustaining business is similar to the example above, but on a much grander scale. It will entail a lot of toil initially, but if you stick to it and put your focus on it, the harvest will be abundant. It will run and sell itself on its own even with only minimal supervision. I think only a select few people who are gifted with business savvy or are gifted with good selling skills can pull this through.

Investing is easier. You will just have to go to an investment company, fill out a form, submit the filled-out form with the requirements, and then deposit the initial investment. That’s it. No extra work after that. You will just need to wait it out and monitor your investments every once in a while.

Working extra or putting up a business requires a lot of selling while investing requires no selling but a lot of time. According to one newsletter from my subscription to Bo Sanchez' Truly Rich Club (link here), investing will make you richer later (like in ten years), but selling will make you richer sooner than later (five years).

In my opinion, you can get started now with investing. Like, RIGHT ABOUT NOW. It is the basic-level in securing your future. Can you set-up a business as fast as that? I hope you won't, as you need to carefully plan it.

Running a business is intermediate level. So I think it is important to first have the basics in place. Getting an insurance is a form of investment. You can also invest in the stock market (How? Click here). With that already set-up, that is when you can think of other ways how to earn by working on that business idea you may have been cultivating in your mind all this time.

Lessons on Breastfeeding

2013-01-18T15:28:00.000+08:00

I have a draft on how I celebrated my 31st birthday. But who really cares about a 30 something mother turning another year older right? So it's still in my drafts. Let me just tell you that I love birthdays. I love celebrations. Heck, I love anything that would allow me to celebrate. But just to sum it all up. I am happy that it was my birthday and I am glad I was able to celebrate it with the people that truly matters to me.

So let me just talk about what I have been up to lately -- I gave birth! To a beautiful, perfect, sweet, little baby girl we named Sam. Oh she is such a sweetheart. And so I am spending about 70% of my day now breastfeeding her. And since my newsfeed (in facebook) is now filled with friends who just gave birth or who are just about to, I decided to do this piece instead.

I just thought it would be nice to share my thoughts on this as I have done here (<--click) initially. Being a second time breasfteeding mama, I am more mature now. There's less drama this time. You will not believe how such of a drama queen I was during the first time. I even called my Pedia, weeping in the middle of the night.

Which brings me to now. Doing this for the second time, I will definitely not declare that I am an expert on this. I am not a formula hater as well. I will never look down on a mom who decided to bottle feed their kids. Nor will I declare that breastfeeding is for everyone. It is still your body, your life, and your child. Ultimately, you will know what will be best for your kids. Let no one take that feeling away from you.

So who am I? I am just a mother who is very, very determined to breastfeed her children. I will not enumerate the health benefits of breastfeeding anymore plus all other numerous advantages (I mean it's free, is there anything cheaper than that?!). I am here to tell you the things that helped me stay committed to my decision.

1) Breastfeeding is something you learn. I took all three breastfeeding classes offered by Medela Moms. I bought books, browsed the internet, read tons of mommy blogs for inspiration, attended a La Leche League meeting, even went to the classes offered by The Medical City. The more you know the less likely you will give up when you hit a roadblock.

2) Arm yourself with the right tools. As it will hurt (extremely - for me at least) during the first week, get a good nipple cream. I used Lansinoh. I also bought Avent Breast Shells. Good pairs of nursing bras. A nursing cover so you can continue to breastfeed even if you have visitors. That's basically all there is to it. (Note - especially to first time moms: try to limit your visitors in the hospital. As you are still trying to learn the ropes of breastfeeding and you might be more self conscious ask your well meaning friends to visit you about two weeks after giving birth already so you're sure you've already mastered breastfeeding by that time.)

3) Educate everyone that is close to you on your decision. Get their support and buy in. The last thing you need is a voice discouraging you. Although, since it is not a perfect world you will always have people telling you things you do not need to hear. During these times, just smile and ask them to get you a glass of water. :)

4) DO NOT BUY FEEDING BOTTLES (yet). Lest you be tempted, stay away from these until you are a few weeks away from returning to work.

5) Don't be insecure with your milk supply. Size does not matter. Never compare yourself to other moms. Keep telling yourself that you have more than enough for your baby.

6) Just to reiterate. It will hurt. I just squeeze ~~and break~~ my husbands fingers whenever it hurts extremely to just release some of the ~~anger~~ 'energy'. Do believe that in a few days it will go away. (Also, this would be a good time to go back and read all the wonderful benefits of breastfeeding just to push yourself. 90% of the time it hurts because of an incorrect latch. So have the patience to teach yourself and the new baby the proper technique. In a few days, it's going to be smooth sailing believe me.)

7) Do not forget yourself. Eat! (Breastfeeding moms burn approximately 500 calories just by breastfeeding). By eat, meaning a proper balanced nutrition. Drink plenty of fluids. I was eating plenty of galactagouges (foods that help increase milk supply) like oatmeal, halaan, warm soup, malunggay leaves, and the like. Oh, and also indulge every now then (go eat that sundae you've been craving). :)

8) Breastfeed on demand. Nurse as frequently as you can. Both Eli and Sammy are forever attached to me during their first weeks. It's okay. They like to nurse for plenty of reasons and it's NOT because they are not getting enough.

9) Finally, so you can also get that much needed sleep during the night: master the side lying feeding position. :) Believe me, this will save your life!

Okay what else? I am pretty sure there might be a couple of things I might be forgetting but those above are pretty much the most important things that I can remember. Oh, and here are the sites that I frequent to the most: Kellymom, Dr. Sears, La Leche League International. Also some blogs: Chronicles of a Nursing Mom and The Leaky Boob. And there's plenty more, numerous forums and website all dedicated to this. Just have the patience and determination to stick by with your decision. And hey, take it one day at a time to enjoy this period of your life to the fullest.

Cheers mommies!

My 31st filled with my favorite things

2013-01-17T18:00:00.000+08:00

**Found this lying on my drafts. Now I could never remember why I did not bother publishing this. Oh well, here we go. This is more than 8 moths delayed though. But the message of the post still counts. :-)**

This post is a week old delayed. I lost my mojo in blogging. Somehow sharing my nonsensical thoughts didn't have as much appeal as it had a few months back. Too bad because 2012 was a pretty impressive year for me. A lot of ups and downs. Hard decisions, sudden changes, weight loss journey, some welcome surprises, and abundance of blessing. I wish I was not as lazy as I was in documenting my year because it was a pretty fun year for me and my little family.

But enough about that. So, I turned 31 last Friday. I am repeating that number in my head right now and it is not making any sense. I mean it is just a number. Same old me. In my head I am forever stuck at the age of 19. I am the same forever giddy, excitable, highly emotional same old me.

Physically, I like the look of the older me. That and plus I like the fact that my favorite things in life still has not changed. The smell of a newly opened paperback. The smell of leaves when it's raining. The look in my husband's eyes when I cooked something. And now add the laughter of my children. Family. Still nothing beats the love of a family. That is perhaps the reason why I shall remain forever young.

So speaking of birthdays, I went that morning in the office to surprise a teammate. I gave him a pillow (because he loves to sleep and I have scolded him several times for sleeping hehe - hello Lei, I miss you to bits). Only to be surprised back by my team with a chockfull box of baking supplies! I immediately used them the very next day! Thank you guys that was so sweet.

And then I went home to prepare for my simple birthday dinner which I filled with all my favorite foods.

Maki, Sushi, Sashimi platter (I still believe I am a Japanese at heart)

Sabroso Lechon

World's Best Laing (by me - self proclaimed)

Pancit Canton (because no birthday is complete without)

Nathaniel's Buco Pandan (simply because it is THE BEST buco pandan there is)

I was supposed to get Estrel's cake but they are closed from Jan 1 - 16 (what gives?!). So we settled for Quatro Leche by Cake to Go. (Thank you sister!)

My lovely guests. My heart soars because I just love them very much.

That's all there is to it. Baking. Food. Family. Laughter. I am a very contented 19 year old. :D

Guest Post: How you can start investing in the stock market

2012-11-25T20:18:00.002+08:00

I don't always come up with posts that makes a lot of sense. Primarily because my intended audience is always just myself, hubby, and our children (when they are old enough to get embarrassed by my posts hee hee). I also would like for my son and daughter to have an idea what their mom 'sounded' like back in the day.

So, sometimes it amazes me why certain demographics (don't get me wrong they are still a very few) outside my family bothers to read my musings at all. Okay, so now to my point. You may not want to read this little blog BUT I urge you not to let this one pass.

My husband is my guest blogger. And he will talk about something that might change your outlook when it comes to your finances. No strings attached just pure unadulterated sharing for the sake of passing on something good. Read up. ;)

Note to hubby: I hope you can do more of this to add more sense in this blog. Haha. As always I am prouder of you than anyone else in this earth could ever be.

How you can start investing in the stock market

Introduction

I believe that the fear of the unknown is what prevents many Filipinos from investing in the stock market. I think the two most common misconceptions about the stock market are: (1) too technical for ordinary people to understand and (2) too risky to put your money in.

It has become my personal advocacy to reach out to as many friends as I can and introduce them to stock market investing. I started with it when I came across Bo Sanchez's book "My Maid Invests in the Stock Market... and Why You Should, Too!" Catchy title right?

But first let me just get these things out of the way: I'm doing this for free and I won't get an income out of this (well probably a little if you use the affiliate link I provided at the end). I just want to make people aware of this option on how to grow money. Also I'm subscribed to Bo Sanchez's teaching on stock market investing, so what I'm telling here is just my interpretation of that. His teaching made a lot of sense to me, and my purpose is to just relay the message.

So how can you get started? Read on.

What You Need to Get Started

First you need to understand and appreciate the following simple concept, discipline, and attitude in order to do stock market investing:

Compound interest
Consistent, regular setting aside of a portion of your income for stock market investing
Knowing the difference between stock market trading and stock market investing

I’ll discuss items 1 and 2 first, and then proceed with item 3.

Compound Interest and Consistent Saving

Albert Einstein once said, “Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. He who understands it, earns it ... he who doesn't ... pays it.”

Did you know that that P50 can become P50 million and make you insanely wealthy because of compound interest? Consider the following tables:

Above are different investment vehicles. You need an investment vehicle to grow your money.

Some people put their money in banks under a time deposit account, like in table (i). As you can see, the initial P50 becomes P50 million because of compound interest, but it takes 469 years. However, smarter people put their money in, e.g., government-issued bonds (table(ii)) or invest their money in the stock market (table(iii)). They use a faster vehicle to grow their money.

The investors in the tables above ONLY made a one-time investment of P50 and let compound interest do its work. But are you only capable of such a similar move?

I’m sure you can do better than putting in a P50-savings once in your lifetime right? You can instead put in P50 every year, yes?

But you can do better than P50! Why not put in P100? Why not put in P1,000? Why not P2,000?

And of course you can do better than a once-a-year saving! Why not instead of putting in P2,000 every year, you do it every quarter? Or why not do it every month?

Let’s say you decided to put in P2,000 every month which makes P24,000 per year. Using the rate in table (iii), see computation below how that very doable effort can bring you faster to a wealthy status:

Which is what drives the next point after compound interest – consistent and regular setting aside of a portion of your income. It doesn’t matter how much you can set aside (but if you can set aside more, you can reach your wealthy status faster). What matters is that you do it regularly. If your age now is 40 it’s possible you still have another 42 years ahead of you, and if you start investing now, you will be P56 million richer by 82!

Knowing the difference: Stock Market Trading vs. Stock Market Investing

To earn from the stock market, as you may have heard, you need to buy low and sell high. Both stock market trading and stock market investing essentially subscribe to this principle, but they differ in the time period wherein this principle is being applied.

Stock Trading or Active Trading

In stock market trading, the buying and selling activities happen in a span of a month, weeks, days, or even hours. Trading within these short time spans often necessitates a lot (really a lot!) of effort and makes use of very complex statistical analysis and forecasting tools.

Figure 1: Stock Market Trading

Figure 1 is as sample stock price movement. The green bars mean that the stock price is in an upward movement, while the red bars mean that it is in a downward movement. So to be able to use the “buy low, sell high” principle, stock market traders try to place a stock purchase at each of the bottom-most portion of the red bars, hold a bit, and then sell at each of the top-most portion of the green bars.

In media portrayals, those involved in stock market trading enjoy very high returns or suffer very big losses. To beat the market, they pour over a lot of data analysis on the fluctuations in stock prices. They are celebratory when they beat the market or suicidal when the market beats them.

I think this kind of media portrayal is what scares most people from being involved in the stock market.

Stock Market Investing or Passive Investing

In stock market investing, the buying and selling happen in a span of several months, a year, or several years. Short-term fluctuations do not matter and so one does not need to put in a lot of effort in predicting when to purchase or sell a stock.

Figure 2: Stock Market Investing

Using the illustration above let’s assume that you don’t have time in closely monitoring the stock prices and decided to just passively purchase shares at regular intervals. Let’s also assume a very unlikely worst case scenario wherein you placed all of your purchases at each of the bottom-most portion of the red bars.

If you average out all of these stock purchases in a span of several months or years, you still earn if you decide to sell in the end. This is called “cost-averaging.” The important thing here is there should be consistent stock purchases at regular intervals.

As you can see, you don’t have to predict when the stock prices will fall at its lowest or rise at its highest (that is a very complex science). You just have to pick big, well-managed companies that are very likely to maintain its profitability (can you imagine Ayala, SM, or PLDT not being profitable?). Then you just do a piggy-back ride on their profits by buying stocks from them.

Parting words

Before you get to pick the right companies where you can buy your shares from, you should have a broker that will serve you with your stock market investing needs. I use the online stock broker COL Financial wherein I have an account. For details, visit this link: https://www.colfinancial.com/ape/Final2/home/open_an_account.asp

Understanding and appreciating the three items I have described above is I think already 90% of the strategy that you need to apply in stock market investing. My goal in this write-up is to convince you that you can do stock market investing. I hope I was able to do that. This is the basic level – knowing that you can do it.

On a side note, I have and still am subscribed to Bo Sanchez’s Truly Rich Club which is where I get directions on how I can maximize further my stock investment earnings. In this on-line community, members regularly receive stock updates that include which good companies to buy, when to buy, until when to hold, and when to sell. This is the remaining 10% of my strategy. You can visit http://bosanchezmembers.com/amember/go.php?r=19813&i=b0 for details.

Elijah 2nd Birthday: Jollibee Kiddie Party

2012-11-22T19:10:00.002+08:00

This blog post has been delayed for over two weeks. I cannot even begin to describe how hectic our schedules have become. I am eight months pregnant very round belly, chasing after a now very curious and assertive toddler. You can just imagine. But I cannot let the season pass without talking about my son's 2nd birthday party. When he's twelve and he asks me what was his birthday like at least I have a reference hehe.

I cannot believe it's been a year since I organized Eli's Rockstar themed 1st birthday party at Centerstage (read about it here). The second birthday party was more low key. Party planning took only less than a week. For one, I had lesser suppliers to think about this time and I really had no actual theme I needed to stick by. I just knew I wanted the color scheme of orange, blue, and green.

Lower maintenance but equally fun nevertheless. The important thing is I felt the overflowing love for our baby boy. I mean that's what parties are all about right? To celebrate the precious gift that is the celebrant. I am really thankful to everyone who came to the party. It was simple and people went home happy. Thank you for your time, and precious gifts.

Here are photos to give you an idea on how the event went:

Photobooth courtersy of Fotostyle
Affordable and very professional. Party proper started at 11am
and they were at the venue as early as 9am. I loved the quality of their outputs.
(Thanks ninang Cookie and kuya Keith for your gift!)

Candy buffet: courtesy of Kendi Cart
This was a hit among kids and adults.
I highly recommend these guys as well. Sulit for the price.
(Thanks ninang Belet for this! =))

Another shot of the candy buffet.
Simple design just the way I like it.

Balloon centerpieces c/o Smile Party Events & Balloon Decor.

Balloonderitas and Balloon Pillars
also from Smile Party Events & Balloon Decor

We got the Jollitown cake from Jollibee.
Their supplier is Red Ribbon. This was a mocha cake. Yum!

Snap watches given as souvenirs for kids (gift of my mom).
The rest of the prizes I bought from Landmark and SM.

Daddy Jp and the very pregnant me.
Eli hated having his pictures taken!
Outfit me: Dress by Forever21, Cardigan from my friend Jen.
Outfit daddy: FUBU shirt, some jeans. =)

This was what the venue looked like.
Quite spacious in my opinion and easy lang magkita kita ang mga tao.
However, when the guests started pouring in (about 90 persons)
it became a bit crowded also. But it's all right in my opinion.

This was during the prayer.

Daddy and the birthday boy looking at his guests.
Outfit Eli: shirt by Mossimo kids, short pants by Moose Gear

Just because I love pictures of other people taking pictures of other people.
Haha.

Opening remarks by daddy JP.

The party wouldn't be complete without Jollibee's
signature balloon popping game.
Thank you tita Tanya and ninong Mon for being so competitive.

We did not have that many kiddie guests kaya the games was for the
kids at heart instead. The games were lively and fun.
Especially if nanood ka lang hehe.

One of the rare times na nagpakuha ng picture ang birthday boy.
With daddy and his lolo Oca.

Again competitive ang games ng adults.
Akala mo Olympics diba?

Since the girls lost they had to dance with Jollibee
to the tune of... "Gangnam Style" of course!
(Note to Eli: you probably won't remember what Gangnam Style is
but during your second year national anthem yan sa mga parties!)

Eli and 2nd cousin Enzo.
Eli just adores Jollibee.

I bought these non toxic bubble toys so that the kids had something
to play with when they are bored.

Here are the kiddie guests.
Aren't they all cute?
(Look at Jollibee naka beautiful eyes sa likod hehe.)

See? Love nya talaga si Jollibee.

I think he wants to take home Jollibee.

Sulit the Jollibee party just for this adorable picture.

I was saying to Eli:
"Anak, say good bye na to Jollibee because we can't take him home."

Kudos to the mascot assigned to us.
Super hardworking and kwela. I think he stayed for more than an hour.

He performed three songs!

Blowing of the cake. Mainit na ang ulo ng birthday boy.

I just love this candid shot!
Ayaw nyang paalisin si Jollibee LOL. =)

Kudos to the staff of Jollibee Sheridan. I know we had some issues at the beginning during the booking process but your guys made up for it in many ways.

Just send me a message if you have any questions on the suppliers I booked.

Hooray for Two!

2012-11-11T08:49:00.003+08:00

Hi Eli, you are 2 today! You hear that? Those are 2 wonderful years of getting to know you and discovering ourselves as your parents. From day 1 I just resolved into loving you in every way I know how. That is rejoicing every ordinary days that I get to be your mom and take care of you. Your dad though, was such a discovery.

I knew from the moment we married that he’s going to be a great dad. But he even surpassed my high expectations. Ever since you were born I see him becoming more and more devoted to you. I see you holding hands while sleeping and it’s enough for my crazy little heart to overflow with joy. He loved giving you massages (and you love receiving those), he reads stories to you that sometimes bores the two of you but you listen along anyway, you sing silly songs with daddy of lyrics and notes that only your souls understand.

So you see, every day has been filled with quiet contentedness like this. Oh, I can’t even begin to just express how happy you made us. But know for sure that we love and adore you unconditionally. We can’t wait to travel the world with you. To bring you to your first Disneyland adventure (HK perhaps? Or Tokyo or Paris if mommy and daddy gets lucky). To witness you take your first elephant ride. Or build your first snowman. For you to experience and see the world as your playground. Where you will work hard on your passion and at the same time have the best fun with things that excite you.

One more thing I am so excited to see you one day (and that’s happening really soon) as a big brother. With a little sister to care for. With a little sister to fight the world for. And a little sister to be with no matter what.

You made us better persons. You made me appreciate more the man that is your dad. You have expanded our world so much.

I love you sweet, silly, little boy. Someday soon, you will choose to build a family of your own but until that day happens we’ll cherish every moment that we have with you.

Love, Mom.

PS: I hope you enjoyed your simple party yesterday although you hated having your picture taken. Today, we'll go to the zoo to see animals that you are just so fascinated at. We love you and happy birthday. :))

To Party or not to Party

2012-09-12T12:24:00.002+08:00

Some mababaw nanay problems. But believe you me mga muthers, I have been having sleepless nights just debating in my head whether Eli should have a party for his 2nd birthday.

Filipino tradition dictates (dictates talaga?! haha) that normally the bonggels parties are during the 1st and 7th birthdays, then followed by 18th (if girl) and 21st (if boy). But not for this mom. I just love parties! I just love the thrill and stress of it all.

But. But. But. Since I will be going 8th months preggers by the time November rolls in I cannot afford any stress. Also, financially speaking mas practical din not to have a party anymore because the money that we can save can go to just buying Eli wonderful stuff and some of it can go to my panganganak fund (read: pang-CS sa The Medical City).

However. However. However. This is the last year na Eli will be celebrating his birthday na he is still our only baby. And his exact birthday fell on a Sunday, so I took it as another sign from the high heavens.

Oh but the stress of guests not doing RSVP.

But the happiness of me choosing what Eli will wear for his party.

And what if it rains and no one goes?

Pero, I already found this really nice location where he can celebrate a low-key party.

But hubby is being oh-so-strict with the 'budget'.

Seeing our closest relatives and friends on that day will be fun though.

See I am ever so torn.

This mama is so confused.

Nevertheless, I love our son that I am sure of. Ultimately, the day is about him. I know whatever we decide on he's going to be happy anyway knowing he is loved by his mom and dad primarily and so many more.

Will keep you updated sisters. =)

Adventures in Baking: Red Velvet Cupcake (dry run)

2012-09-07T22:20:00.004+08:00

My mama's birthday is on Sunday (I love you mama!). I plan to make her the moistest Chocolate cake with thick choco ganache and red velvet cupcakes. Between the two cakes I am more scared of the later. One can never go wrong with a chocolate cake. Slather anything with chocolate and it will automatically taste good.

Thing is cupcakes are so dainty. And I am far from dainty. And I am bit nervous, as this being only my fourth time to bake. (Super novice baker here!) Hence, I needed a dry run before my mom's actual birthday on Sunday.

As luck would have it, the cupcakes were a success. Judged by me. And because I can't go to Sonja's I brought Sonja's to me. (Lumi-level sa Sonja's promise. Hehe.)

Special thanks to my friends who sent their recipes Dits (mommy behind this awesone blog), Lia (she makes iCakes), and Oli. Ultimately, I followed recipe from Joy of Baking.

What I loved about it:
- The cupcakes came out moist, although I tasted a hint of baking soda so for my second batch instead of 1/2 tsp. I will reduce it to 1/4.
- The frosting was not too sweet. Just enough blend of tangy-ness and sweetness. I will reduce the amount of cream though from 2/3 cups to just 1/3 because I found the frosting a bit runny.
- Among all the recipe's I've read this used the fewest amount of flour and sugar yet it still yielded to a perfect equal 12 portions of 3 oz. cupcakes.
- It was yummy. Enough said.

Red Velvet Cupcakes:
1 1/4 cups (125 grams) sifted cake flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoons (10 grams) regular unsweetened or Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cups (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (120 ml) buttermilk
1 tablespoon liquid red food coloring
1/2 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda (I will reduce to 1/4 next time)

Cream Cheese Frosting:
8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (60 grams) confectioners' (icing or powdered) sugar, sifted
2/3 cup (160 ml) cold heavy whipping (I will reduce to 1/3 next time)

Red Velvet Cupcakes:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and line 12 muffin tins with paper cupcake liners.
2) In a large bowl whisk or sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cocoa powder.
3) In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter until soft (about 1-2 minutes). Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy (about 2-3 minutes). Add the egg and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat until combined.
4) In a measuring cup whisk the buttermilk with the red food coloring. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour.
5) In a small cup combine the vinegar and baking soda. Allow the mixture to fizz and then quickly fold into the cake batter.
6) Working quickly, divide the batter evenly among the 12 muffin cups and smooth the tops with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 18 - 23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcakes comes out clean.
7) Cool the cakes in their pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes and them remove from pan. Let cool completely before frosting. Either spread the frosting with a knife or offset spatula, or use a large 1M Wilton open star decorating tip to pipe the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1) In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth.
2) Add the vanilla and confectioners sugar and beat until smooth. Using the whisk attachment, gradually add the heavy cream and whip until the frosting is thick enough to pipe.
3) Add more sugar or cream as needed to get the right consistency.

Some pictures to show you:

Note - sorry for the crappy pictures. I am using a very old camera plus my lack of photography skills.

Some of the raw ingredients for the red velvet cake
(Hubby lovingly procured some of the ingredients for me from Sweetcraft)

Some of the raw ingredients for the cream cheese frosting
(Make sure that the cream cheese is at room temperature before whipping)

Le tools =)
(Nothing fancy there.)

The red velvet batter. So RED!
(do not over mix or you'll end up with bread instead of cake)

See I am a very messy baker.
(Kevs, di na halata pag naluto na.)

The frosting, a bit on the runny side. But very yummy!

Didn't get to take much pictures of the finished product because
my son was in a hurry to eat all of them. =)

Moist Vanilla Layer Cake with Fluffy Buttercream Frosting

2012-08-28T21:43:00.003+08:00

My, my, my mommies! August is about to end and here I am with just a second entry for the month. You will not believe it but time flies even if you are just a stay-at-home-mom.

But I promise to turn over a new leaf because it's already September. Why? Because I love "-ber" months. Why? Because it means Christmas is just around the corner. And there's no other bigger Christmas nut out there more than me. I am giddy over Christmas. I go through the motions of other months just so I can get by until 'the' season arrives again.

Okay so before I get carried away with the thought of the Holidays let me just give you a quick update that I've decided to conquer my fear of baking. Why fear it? Well, I am an excellent cook but I never liked measuring stuff (no wonder I did not became a chemist!). I have said so many times in my recipe series that I like eye-balling stuff.

And baking is pretty much like architecture. You have to be precise on your measurements or else the entire structure will crumble. And the mess (thank God for ate Conching). And the numerous instruments.

However, Martha Stewart is my peg lately (minus the insider trading stuff). So hey, I gotta give baking a try. I've been making butter cakes with my sisters for two consecutive weeks. So I wanted to change it up and make vanilla cakes this time. I know, know, they are almost similar. One thing you have to know though, me and hubby never liked chocolate cakes. For some reason we take a bite at any chocolate and instantly all we taste is bitterness. I know that's very weird of us.

The cake is what it is. It has a very moist vanilla chiffon cake and a fluffy buttercream icing. This is something that I'm sure a lot of you will love. I got the recipe here and tweaked it a bit. For one, I didn't use buttermilk. Also I suggest you reduce the sugar on the icing to make it less sugary.

Here it is mothers:

Vanilla Cake:
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups cake flour, plus extra for dusting pans
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 3/4 cups sugar (12 1/4 ounces)
10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
(Note: it is quite hard to look for buttermilk so instead I used 1 cup milk mixed with 3/4 tsp cream of tartar)
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 large egg yolks, room temperature
3 large egg whites, room temperature
(Note: since most eggs on the groceries are medium I used 8 egg yolks and 4 egg whites instead)

Instructions
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch-wide by 2-inch-high round cake pans and line bottoms with parchment paper. Grease paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and 1 1/2 cups sugar together in large bowl. In 4-cup liquid measuring cup or medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and yolks.
2. In clean bowl of stand mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat egg whites at medium-high speed until foamy, about 30 seconds. With machine running, gradually add remaining 1/4 cup sugar; continue to beat until stiff peaks just form, 30 to 60 seconds (whites should hold peak but mixture should appear moist). Transfer to bowl and set aside.
3. Add flour mixture to now-empty mixing bowl fitted with whisk attachment. With mixer running at low speed, gradually pour in butter mixture and mix until almost incorporated (a few streaks of dry flour will remain), about 15 seconds. Stop mixer and scrape whisk and sides of bowl. Return mixer to medium-low speed and beat until smooth and fully incorporated, 10 to 15 seconds.
4. Using rubber spatula, stir 1/3 of whites into batter to lighten, then add remaining whites and gently fold into batter until no white streaks remain. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans. Lightly tap pans against counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any large air bubbles.
5. Bake until cake layers begin to pull away from sides of pans and toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 20 to 22 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on wire rack for 10 minutes. Loosen cakes from sides of pans with small knife, then invert onto greased wire rack and peel off parchment. Invert cakes again and cool completely on rack, about 1 1/2 hours.

Easy Buttercream:
3 tablespoons heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Pinch table salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
(Note: I suggest just use 1 1/2 or 2 cups depending on your sweetness preference)

Instructions
1. Stir the cream, vanilla, and salt together in a small bowl until the salt dissolves.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until smooth, 30 to 60 seconds. Reduce the speed to medium-low, slowly add the confectioners' sugar, and beat until smooth, 2 to 5 minutes.
3. Beat in the cream mixture. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, 4 to 5 minutes.(If using a hand held mixer, beat for 8-10 minutes)

I also added canned strawberries as toppings and decoration. You may use blueberries or mangoes too. =)

Here is the buttercream icing in the process of being whipped :)

The very rustic looking cake, and the taste is yummy.
Not bad for my first attempt.

The layers of the cake turned out too thick.
I should have used used a wider pan.

Never again in 100 years

2012-08-10T10:54:00.003+08:00

Breathe first, then smile. Here we go.

I remember post-Ondoy that a real estate broker was trying to sell us a townhouse somewhere in Quezon City. Our first question was, how was the flooding in this property during the Ondoy calamity. The agent, brushed it of saying that according to "statistics" typhoons of Ondoy proportions will only happen once in a lifetime. Chances are it will never happen again in 100 years.

I dare not ask where the idiotic statistics came from, needless to say we turned our backs to that property and it turned out that the water was neck deep in that community during that typhoon.

Things should be getting back to normal now. I would just like to add how easily we tend to forget. I am not one of those doomsayers but open your eyes people! Our mother earth is a little kooky and we can never deny that climate change is for real. These torrential rains will happen again and it can happen sooner than we think.

Our neglect is the primary cause, therefore we are the ones that should offer solutions as well. Government people have to get up their butts and make our drainage systems more efficient. Those living beside the riverbanks need to be relocated. Bridges need to be repaired, walls of dams need to reinforced, roads needs to be safer (I mean open manhole?! Really? ). Yes, yes, don't blame everything on the government but the things I have just enumerated cannot be done by an ordinary citizen. People with positions of power: time to take your responsibilities seriously.

What about us, random citizen of the world? Okay, first help out. Everyone is in the position to help. Help one another. Help yourself, then help others, then go the extra mile.

Once, that's done say peace with mother nature and stop throwing garbage everywhere. Don't just shut up and go back to the daily grind. Make this calamity count by making a change in yourself. I am as guilty as everyone else is. But when I look at my son's eyes, I promised that I will never just forget all this ever happened.

If there's anything that I can do in my end to make this world a better place, I'd very well do it.

So should you.