Foodie and others

I am blogging with a heavy heart. I am removing my ads for some undisclosed reason. Other bloggers may know the reason why, so I won't elaborate and dwell on it. It even came to a point wherein I wanted to shut down my blog but I've realized that it's not worth doing it. This blog was created for my love of writing so I wish to continue the so-called-battle, hehehe.

Today is Memorial Day in US so daddy is with me at home, doh technically he is still working. I am happy as usual because I get to spend extra time with him. During days where we can spend time more, we make it a point to really bond. We were both craving for something Italian and Mediterranean. In the morning, we dropped by at Bretto’s, it’s the only deli I know in our place which has a restaurant as well as a grocery with countless imported meats, steaks, cold cuts and cheese! I bought 200 grams of Mozzarella cheese and Cheddar cheese plus some cuts of Balony and nice warm bread with a weird shape. I hurriedly made our late breakfast,my own version of Submarine sandwich. It has several pieces of balony, onion rings, tomatoes, butter, mayo and layers and layers of melted Mozzarella and chedder cheese. It was heaven; I was able to make 5 servings of it. It was almost finished when I realized I forgot to put some ketchup on it. Darn! Anyhoo, it was still a great sandwich.

By afternoon, we decided to visit Molly Malones in Fields Avenue which offers international cuisine including Indian. We miss so much the Cheese Tosai we had at Little India. Tosai is a pan grilled Indian bread that tasted so good. It has melted cheese inside with different variety of dips. But this bread is not available locally, so we opted to buy Papad and Naan Bread instead.

Papad is a toasted flat crisp, pressed with mild Indian Spices. This particular bread is very tasty, distinctly Indian. The Naan is a round shape leavened grilled bread. For 40 pesos, its kinda pricey considering it has the same size and consistency as with the Shawarma bread but definitely taste better. Its grilled to perfection, comes with a garlic sauce dip and salsa. It can also be taken with mozzarella cheese or dip it with olive-basil-soysauce dip.

The small tortilla like is the papad and Naan is the Shawarma-like bread.


And oh I am so happy that our PSP actually worked for internet access via WIFI. I just tried it yesterday at home and I am using it tonight as well. See, I was able to even access my blog. :)





FOR THE SUCCEEDING PICTURE THAT I POSTED BELOW, I WOULD LIKE TO ISSUE A WARNING AS EARLY AS NOW…. VIEW AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Its not really yucky but some of you might not be used to seeing unusual procedures done to any human. Below is my brother’s hand after an operation he had these past weeks. A metal wire/stick was inserted inside his hand due to a broken and chipped hand bone with 4 or 5 stapler (it’s the term used as it looks like a stapler) in it. Its not really that clear coz he was just cleaning it when I took the picture, the betadine almost covered it.

xoxo,

Ace

Thanksgiving!

Barely a few days ago, I was blogging about my mom and brother’s condition. Though they were admitted for almost a week on two different hospitals, they were both released last Saturday. You can feel the happy ambiance at our home last Saturday afternoon. It has been a full week of not being together in our place, almost all days and nights were spent in the hospitals instead. Now both of them are recuperating. It’s like we have not undergone any dilemma over the past week. Every worry was erased.

One thing I have learned, God will not give us problems that we can’t handle. Understand that everything that you have experienced will eventually benefit you in the end. We have to face reality that life is not always heaven, we are surrounded by different issues that would tend to complicate our lives and yet, we must put a good attitude of being watchful yet careful and thankful. Watch our actions and our words. Watch even our health because we only have one body and we must take care of it. I can’t thank God enough for helping us through this course. The gloomy week was over and everyone is now happy. :)

Yes, it’s true that “Everything must be done with a thankful heart and let resentment never be a part of your life”. Surely you would realize all the blessings in your life come pouring in. Even tragic moments has good outcome for sure.

I have a super big wish in my heart, it sometimes brings me so much pain when I realize that it’s not yet happening but this only means that I have expressed dissatisfaction over Gods’ way. Now I am constantly reminding myself that God will give it to me in His most sweet time. As early as now, I am so thankful to God for my big wish, that I know, sooner or later, He will surely grant it.

xoxo,

Ace

Playing the Game of Life

Sometimes, life can be likened to a big production number or a movie where you play the role of an actor and its up to you on how to make it worthwhile and entertaining, amidst any possible hindrances along the way.

It's been almost a week of no blogging, we have been faced with one of the greatest and difficult role. My mom just had her gall bladder removed due to build up of stone. It was quite big for the normal size, I actually took a picture of the gall bladder when it was removed as well as when it was cut open to reveal the stone. I will probably post the picture, doh I am not really sure if it will be a pleasant sight for my readers. Tell me ur thoughts, or you may want to skip the picture part and I will just place a disclaimer. Fair enough? I had the privilege of seeing this because the surgeon is a family friend and my Godmother. During my mom's ordeal, she had complications with her sugar as well as with her unstable blood pressure. It fluctuated from 180/90 to 70/80 which was really dangerous. She was in the OR and recovery room from 2:30 PM till almost 10:00 PM. She cried and told us she already saw blue skies and clouds. Added to this, two of the patients next to her died on the same day.

While my mom was on the recovery room, my brother had an “accident”. I was notified that he was in the Emergency Room around 9:00 PM. You can obviously see that he was in deep pain. His hand was swollen and 3 fingers can't be move. It turns out that his hand bone (hahaha I dont know the term, I'll be accurate once I get a hold of the clinical summary) and needs to be screwed. It was really in such a bad state. He just had his operation today. I hope that both of them will recover real soon.

I often wonder why sometimes bad luck strikes all at the same time. But during this past few days of analyzing our situation, I came to accept that everything was meant to happen. I requested for a member data record for my mom but decided to work on my brother's MDR as well without even thinking that it would soon be useful. He was in eternal bliss just a week ago, got engaged and now, he has someone to actually take care of him while mom is recuperating herself. Money maybe a challenge over these two operations yet, it wasn't even hard to cash out when you needed to. It might be a difficult period for us but we know that SOMEONE has been helping us and made it so easy to bear.

God is indeed good. I saw how united our family was, saw our real friends who was there to help out. Even visitors who genuinely took time to cheer us up. It was so overwhelming. We can't ask for more. We are so thankful. Out trials revealed to us that we can champion any situation as long as we want to and let God lead the way. Trials do come and go, its just a matter of how you deal and react with it.

Then if you are to ask yourself “ Why does God allow us to go through trying, difficult and painful times in our life?” Just remember that everything has a purpose. He may prevent it but he let us see the divine reason behind all these hardships we encounter. It helps us build our character more and makes us strong to withstand any storms in our life.

Lastly, count all your blessings instead of hardships. When face with a difficult situation, play it well. Make it entertaining, count all the joy. When you are tired and unable to fight anymore, let go. God will help you conquer all the trials in your life. :)

According to the famous line in the “ Smiling Pasta” series : JUST SMILE AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN'T OVERCOME.

xoxo,

Ace

Fall In Love with Cinnabon

Hubby just got back from his overnight stay in Manila and he brought me a yummy treat. He was bringing a box of Cinnabon Stix with cream cheese dip.  For dinner, I chowed down on three sticks right away. It helps that cream cheese dip was there since I am not really a fan of sweet treats. But Cinnabon was just so good that you can't really resist it.

Below are the Cinnabon Stix andCinna Packs perfect for lighter appetites. They are lightly dusted with sugar and Cinnabon's own Makara Cinnamon.




Next time, I would like to try the Caramel Pecanbon. I can actually imagine the warm cinnabon dough topped with pecans right in front of me.



I haven't done anything productive today. I've been thinking about possible opportunities to take, added to that, I've been preoccupied with my mom's upcoming surgery. I know everything would be okay. It's just that I am not used to see her helpless (coz she can be really hyper at times). I've been thinking about work also, on what's in store for us. Hay life... So how do I equip myself with the new task offered to us? I think as early as now (since it officially starts on June 1) I need to clearly define my attitude towards work. How will it affect my career and role in the company (not that I'm expecting a big change, okay?)

The way we think and the way we behave towards work can make a big difference. If we practice possitivity with every changes around us (including our current job) I bet we will be more happy and less whiny over things being implemented by our company. We all have our share of setbacks but then again with a positive  outlook, it will help us deal with it easily. All we need to do is to convince ourselves that we can actually do it. Positive thinking is a cliche nowadays ( specially when you talk about ramp down at work) but what can you do but to just count your blessings, that you are able to surpass challenges and everything is well. What can be worse, right?

So believe in yourself, awaken that passion, do some action and reach for your goal. :) You can do it, kid! Yes, you can do it, Ace!

xoxo,

Ace

Good Bye, Jason!

Much as I thought that it would be a heart breaking exit, I just saw the coolest exit in American Idol. You would often see contestants crying their heart's out during elimination but Jason is way too cool to do this. You could see on his face how relieved he was to be finally out of the competition. Jason may not have the greatest voice among the idol, but he is definitely the most laid back and genuine singer among the contestants. Never would you see a frown on his face even when he is bombarded with not so good comments. Sad part is that many would surely miss seeing his soulful eyes on screen, including me.

Some articles have mentioned that he already loss the urge to be on top, but hey, he was never a diva. He sings from the heart. He got what he want, to be sent off and he was happy with that. It was even funny when he said he already packed his bags for he wouldn't know what to sing next week should he still be in the contest. Good Bye, Jason. You're the best ever contestant I have seen in the Idol history. Your good nature and happy disposition shine through. :)

xoxo,

Ace

Addiction

When do you consider something an addiction? Addiction as defined by Merriam-Webster is to devote or surrender oneself to something habitually.

So do you consider yourself addicted to Starbucks if you can't resist the urge almost everyday to visit the coffee shop and spend your hard earned money over their drinks? Even when it's almost closing time? Seriously, we have to submit ourselves to Starbucks-buying-ban soon! I was just blogging about saying NO to it and here we are again, enjoying our sinfully good treats from Starbucks. Again, how can we be a millionaire (refer to previous postings) if we keep on spending over their coffees? Anyways, I am not addicted to it, its hubby but whenever he asks me to drop by at Starbucks, I at first say no but when we are already there, I see myself ordering as well. :( Talk about self control. Each time i say its enough, he would tell me that he just want to enjoy the time that we can spend a day/night normally and do a little celebration. I am not a coffee drinker and yet can’t resist gourmet coffees hehehe. But I go for tea blends.

Pictured below are sinfully good Hot White Choco Mocha, Strawberries and Crème Frappe and a Mocha Waffle.



On our less than an hour stay in SM, I was able to buy some hair treatments. For a non rebonded hair like mine, my hair can really get so frizzy on bad days. It sucks. My hair can look rebonded after a cellophane treatment which is advisable to be done every month but would it be wise to spend P2,500 each month for that? Of course not. That’s about P30,000 in a year you can spend it instead over a retirement pay. So other than opting once in a while for an organic treatment of honey and olive oil (which is kinda messy) I decided to try other easy to use home treatments. Seen below is a one minute milk hot oil treatment. It smells so sweet, like a powdered milk but I still don’t know if its good. I also bought 2 trial packs of Yogurt treatment wax in strawberry flavor. It says it can tame frizzy hair, lets see. I hope they are effective salon treatments at home. I will post reviews once I’ve tried them on.



Talk about addiction, I used to be addicted to buying rubber shoes. But I was able to control it now. Just recently, I have blogged about the nice wedges that I have been looking for. I found one that fits me so well but…. there seems to be a problem, one shoe is bigger. There must have been a problem when they packed it because seriously the other one is a size bigger. So they are not really a pair. Too bad that I really like them that I cannot let it pass again. But how the hell would I wear a pair that is not really a pair? So I opted for the next size. I bought the wedge one size bigger than my regular and they seriously are big for me. When I tried them on, it’s not really comfortable when walking so I decided to remedy it with 2 corks each shoe instead. Hehehe.

See although I don’t like Shaina, I love her wedge here:



I’ve got the same one just like Shaina! I love them. I can see myself maturing (in terms of shoe preference only) already, because I am fascinated with girly shoes nowadays.



This is so OT. I was watching American Idol’s Top 4 earlier and I can see Jason Castro saying goodbye this week. He is still my favorite but I don’t see him in the top 3 spot anymore. I hope he survived this week but its either him or Syesha. He did not get a very good review from the 3 idol judges. I am just so sad. He did not exert extra effort. He sings well but not very competitive. Sad Sad Sad.

Hafta end this now.

Xoxo,

Ace

Wedge, anyone?

I've been too busy with work. As in! In between work, I have been surfing on different wedge shoes and on where to possibly order online. Let me post these wedges that I really so adore.






The first one is a Mango wedge which I saw last year on Mango shops. Too bad that even in Manila, I dont have their size and I do not see it displayed in their shops nowadays. :(

I forgot the second one's brand. The third one is a Gucci and the last one comes from the Jessica Simpson's shoe collection.

So let your look and style sizzle with this hottest shoes of the year. Wedges were reintroduced and can be seen everywhere worn not only by stars but every girls who want to look chic and yet comfortable. Design ranges from casual to elegant and can be worn on every possible outfit. They are extremely fashionable. So make sure to consider them on your next shopping trip. :)

xoxo,

Ace

I Just can't help it!!!!!!!!!!!!

I asked hubby to take me to Starbucks just this afternoon (he also likes it naman eh,lolz). I just miss it, though I had it quite a number of times this week already. I still crave for it.

Other than my craving, I am happy that I was able to beat my deadline for this week for a very very short side job. I miss the long hours of writing, the rewarding feeling of finishing a project and of course the regular pay. I sometimes wish that I can give up my current job now and just focus on something that I really love to do. But I need to be practical, how can I be a millionaire ( refer to my other blog entry) if I am giving up now?

Just this morning, I am happy to see my mom's househelps. I get to appreciate everything they do to help her, like clean the house, our clothes and other favors that my mom needs. I am thankful that we can afford to have someone do this for us. Only means that we are blessed in many ways. But since every reader of my blog knows that I am full of irony, I still have this nonsense problem again eventhough I am happy. I just want to vent. Actually I just create my own problems whenever I am bored and not busy. I would often look for something that I lack (mostly in my personality) and would endlessly think about it. Perhaps most people are like this, never contented. I know that I have almost everything that I need, even beyond what I need. Hayyyyyyyy life. I just feel like, I've been like this eversince I can remember. I look the same 5 years ago, nothing exciting. I want to do something different but the big question is What??? I also want to learn another language but I've been to lazy to look for a program. I think I haven't improved at all. But hubby told me that I have changed and improved a lot, he seriously think so. Nwei, I hope everything would change by tomorrow, I hope I would have a better perpective by tomorrow. For the meantime, I am dropping my worries and just focus on all the nice things that God has gifted me with. See, I know how to boost my self esteem. :)

tata for now

xoxo,

Ace

Two Timer and more

Wherever I look, it seems like there would always be a two timer. Was I a victim of it at one point? I would never know. But seriously, I suddenly had the knack of writing about it seeing someone within "my vicinity” acting like one. I would sometimes get affected if I know a person who's having this so called-relationship-with-someone knowing they are very much attached. What is more bad news is that their “real” relationship can be categorized as lawfully legal. Yeah, you read it right. This is just so common in our work place( writing this blog entry, I really feel like “gossip girl” lolz). I am not dropping names, right? I am not doing any damage. I am just discussing the topic in a broad perspective. I feel for the other party who isn't aware of it, or if they are even aware, I feel sorry for them. I am not acting as if I am too self righteous or what, but can they be a little considerate?

Whether it be on tv or real life, this scenario is so common. One underdog (sometimes 2) against illicit lovers. I give credit to those who try to do it secretly, it just means that they still value other people's opinion but OMG to those who flaunt it as if its something that they can be proud of. On the other hand, I maybe just saying this because I am not in their position. Well yeah, but atleast be a little discreet coz people around you are not happy seeing it. Actually, I was just trying to associate it with PBB teen edition plus( do I hear “eeeewwwww” side comments? Like so high school?). I've been blogging endlessly and has chance upon blogs discussing the relationship of the teen housemates outside the PBB house. I personally like Nicole( the In-Chick of Cebu) on the earlier part of the show, and adored Josef ( the la sallite) a little bit. For those who avidly support the show, they can attest to the obvious attraction between Josef and Nikki.It was cute at first ( so puppy love) but the way they act out their affection is just toooo much. There are other housemates inside with love teams but not to the extent where they practically bite each other! Talk about raging hormones of teens here.

Well, going back to my blog hopping, it was mentioned several times on TV that Josef has a GF named Mica and Nicole has a BF named Gilo. Their respective bf and gf have been so supportive of their stint in PBB and you could even witness this in their blogs rooting for their love ones. But on the recent episode, Nicole denied having a boyfriend. Her mom ( a guardian housemate) was flabbergasted. She told Nicole to act properly. Josef on the other hand, informed his aunt ( a guardian HM as well) that Nicole is like a sister. Though he admitted already that he feels something for nicole. Now here is the drama, Josef mentioned something on the Live Stream which of course would not be shown on Prime time tv, that his mother does not favor his relationship with his girlfriend because she is a bad influence. I dont really want to elaborate on how bad she was( according to Josef) just please try checking out PEX for blow by blow update about his so called revelation about their relationship. It was just so below the belt for Mica. On Mica's blog, she has a blog entry about her take on this. An excerpt would be “ Well, much to a lot of people`s delight, we are over. It`s over. I AM SO FED UP WITH YOUR LIES,d*mn it. “ In respect to her, I would not post the entire blog entry. So that's it.... too much tv for me. Hahaha

On a lighter note, I am so happy receiving my new batch of Ilog maria products. I can rave about them all night but I won't hahaha. I ordered again a Bee Pollen, bee propolis and royal jelly. Bee propolis is so effective for me and daddy. So I suggest that you should try it out for those who haven't tried it yet. It's really worth buying.

Xoxo,

Ace