How To Turn An Ordinary Sunday Into An Indoor 'Picnic' Day?

By roasting hotdogs! 

To make it more fun, we put big white fluffy marshmallows at the end of every stick after the hotdogs have been roasted. Amber was so excited and has been shouting ‘Hotdog! Hotdog!’ even before they were cooked. ^_^

Figaro’s Red Velvet Cake

I’ve been so darn curious about this red tinted chocolate cake that I looked for a bakeshop that serves it in slices (of course I can't risk buying the whole cake yet unless I get to taste it first). Then I came across Figaro. Yes, my maiden voyage of a Red Velvet Cake was given to me by a coffee shop! ^_^

Let’s start about what I liked about Figaro’s Red Velvet Cake:

*It’s not too sweet - for my taste.

*They accessorized it with thin slices (or was that finely chopped?) nuts that gave it an added texture.
*There is this thin filling, that I cannot distinguish what, but added sweetness to the cake.

What I didn’t like:

*The cake seems dry and leaves a bitter aftertaste (dunno if it’s supposed to be bitter so pardon me if that sounded a bit ignoramus!).

I don't know if I should be disappointed because I was expecting something exceptional given the popularity it has gained. But what I'm sure of is that now that I know that I can actually like it, I will definitely get one from bakeshops that are famous for their Red Velvet Cake! I'm sure it will only get better! You see, I have to give other bakeshops a try so that I can validate my first experience. Teehee! A good enough excuse, isn’t it? Now, lemme see where to start...

Bar B King's Barbecue

When you have a husband who doesn’t have an adventurous palate, eating out is simple and eyfordable! ^_^

Just ask him what he wants to eat, no sweat!

When he said he wanted barbecue, we went around Megamall to look for a place with a grill. It wasn’t even 5 minutes after when we spotted Bar B King!

The place is jam-packed but we managed to find a table easily.

There's the cashier. Menu overhead.

The grilling area.

An order of 2 sticks with rice, soup and drink costs P95 only! Not bad, huh? Extra plain rice is free! And most of all... they serve Pepsi products! No further convincing is necessary!

Those tomatoes are a perfect match for the bbq 
plus a spicy soy sauce for a dip! Yumminess!

We got 2 orders, extra stick and sundae for the Hubby and had our Mt. Dew upgraded! All in all I only paid P280 and we were already very satisfied with our dinner. Too bad that some of the foods on their menu is unavailable. I would've wanted to try the grilled shrimp. Hmp! 

The barbecue is tender and flavorful. The Hubby liked it. I did, too! But I still vouch for Lola Ineng’s bbq. ^_^

Kwentong MRT

Di lingid as inyo na madalas ako sumakay sa MRT. Bakit hindi? Sa halagang P15 lang, makakarating ka na sa North EDSA mula sa Magallanes sa loob lang ng 30 minuto. Walang trapik!

Kaso kadalasan, lalo na pag rush hour, isang malaking hamon sa katatagan ang pagsakay sa MRT. Marami na akong nasaksihang di kanais-nais na kaganapan tulad na lang ng nangyari kagabi.

Quarter to 7, di na naman mahulugan ng karayom ang MRT!

Habang nasa likod ako ng isang kumpol ng tao, nagyukuan ang mga tao sa bandang unahan na tila may hinahanap. Yun pala, nawawala ang sapatos nung babae sa harapan. Nakiyuko din ako. Tinulungan na namin shang maghanap pero wala. Dahil nasa bandang harapan sya, di maiwasang isipin namin na nauna nang sumakay ang isang kapares na sapatos nya sa nagdaang tren. Sana lang alam nung sapatos kung saang istasyon sha bababa para ma-reunite sha sa nagmamay-ari sa kanya. 

Makaraan ang 3 tren, in-announce sa paging system na ang susunod na tren ay bakante at sa aming itasyon lang magsasakay. Nag-cheer ang mga tao! Parating pa lang ang maluwag na tren, daig pa namin ang sinasalpok ng higanteng alon sa mga 8-wave pool resorts! Tulakan dito tulakan doon, di pa man humihinto ang malaking uod!

Sinwerte na napunta ako sa bandang unahan dahil sa tulakan. Nakapasok ako sa tren nang di ko namalayan! Napasigaw ang isang babae. Paglingon ko, josme! May babaing nakadapa sa bandang pintuan. In fairness, marami ang tumulong sa kanya para maitayo sha. Sa pagitan ng mga tao sa harapan ko, nasilip ko na parang lumusot ang isa nyang paa sa siwang sa pagitan ng platform at tren. Napasambit na lang ako na sana hindi sha nasaktan.

Kung gano ka-challenging ang pagsakay, ganun din ang pagbaba! Pagdating ko sa Shaw Blvd station, kung saan ko imi-meet ang asawa ko, tulakan pa rin bago makalabas ng tren! Habang isinisiksik namin ang katawan namin palabas ng tren, may sumigaw sa bandang loob ng “Can I go out first?”, na sinagot naman ng isa ng “Kung makakalipad ka dito, sige, mauna ka na!”. Ay, ka-iinit ng ulo ng mga tao!

And I therefore conclude... ang MRT pag rush hour, is not for the fainthearted! :-/

The Winning Ticket

That’s what we hoped it would be! Teehee! Yeap, we actually placed a bet. Having a 0.0001% chance is better than not having any, isn’t it?

But well, it wasn’t our lucky day! Not even close. So to my Hubby, the bullet-proof Rav4 2-door that you are planning to buy for me from our lotto winnings, just have to wait! ^_^

Holidays Come And Go

Hmmm... it’s only a month before Christmas. I’m getting excited about our holiday plans but at the same time I wish it will still be months away. And why the contradiction?!? 

I’m excited about the holidays because it means spending more time with the family, the Hubby and most especially the adorable toddler who I just can’t get enough of!

BUT, but, but...

Ngunit, subalit, datapwat...

I’m also half-hearted because days pass by so fast that before you knew it, holidays have already come and gone... in a blink of an eye!

I wish I can freeze the time while we spend the holidays...

'I Loved Her First'

Growing up without a father around, I was never emotional about father-daughter relationships.

On my wedding reception, I didn’t give much thought on the father-daughter dance because there was just no one to dance with (well, there were a lot of wedding reception traditions naman talaga that we didn’t follow and do, so no big deal. ^_^). I never cared about songs that I came across with regarding fathers and daughters. Deadma lang.

But when I heard of this song this morning...

Can’t say that I’m affected in a way that I can relate (because I'm not a father? ^_^), but I find it so sweet as I thought of my Hubby and Amber. I feel that the song speaks so much of what my Hubby (or even me as a Mom or whoever who has a child) will feel when the time comes. I even picture them dancing while the song plays. I know it’s way too early to think about these things but blame it on the song! It made me envison of things that I know are still decades away.

Maybe it was also brought about by the conversation that the Hubby and I had last night. I asked him how he felt the first time he saw Amber at the hospital nursery. He said he has never been prouder. He can’t believe at first that she’s real... the Amber that we used to imagine of having whenever we see kids, was really there...

As the song goes...

From the first breath she breathed

When she first smiled at me
I knew the love of a father runs deep

Pero teka... di ba I loved her first first? ^_^ 

Christmas In The (Office) Air

Hey everybody, remember the tiny Christmas Tree Plant Tree that we have in the office? I threw in some Christmas balls and wrapped presents with it so it will look cheerful...

Hayan, muntik na pala sha matabunan ano? Since I can’t hang the balls on it dahil mas malaki pa sila sa tree, I used them na lang to adorn the table. At least may Christmas air na sa office kahit wala pang bonus! L Ehem, ehem! Boss? Hehe!

One Evening In A Working Mom's Life

A mom had a meeting last night with her boss, which made her left the office at 9PM. Her Husband went home early yesterday. He said he will pick her up at Trinoma later and he’ll be tagging their daughter along. Actually, had she left the office earlier, she would’ve gotten straight home so that he doesn’t have to fetch her and he can have the rest that he really deserves. It’s not that often that he gets home early anyways. ^_^

Kaso yun nga, inabot sha ng syam-syam!

She was surprised that MRT was still cramped at that time of the evening. It was 9:45PM and she still stood inside the train all the way to Cubao from Magallanes. She thought that she can have an entire section all by herself but not! ^_^

Her Hubby, daughter and MIL (who went for a joyride) was already at the meeting place when she arrived. Since her MIL was seated at the front with her daughter, she sat on the backseat. As soon as she got in, she said hello and kissed her daughter. The little girl didn’t make a move to come closer to her. Mom shrugged it off, thinking that her daughter really enjoyed sitting at the front seat where she gets a full view of the road.

She had to make papansin just so the little girl will glance at her. Pero deep within, naiiyak na ang puso nya. It looks as if her daughter is not too eager to see Mommy after all. That and a migraine setting off, she felt like the world is going against her! Oo na, drama na kung drama! Eh bakit ba?!? Feel nya eh!

A few kilometres after, without a warning, the girl flew to her Mommy and settled herself on Mommy’s lap. Mommy embraced her tightly and made sure that she is comfortably seated despite the bumpy ride. They got home with the little girl still seated on her Mom's lap considering that the little girl rarely and doesn’t almost want to sit at the backseat. Haaay, the Mom's heart is so overjoyed! ^_^

And that’s the story of a working mom that is ME!

I Wish To Find 'Someone Like You'

(in my dreams! ^_^)

Although this is one of Adele’s very popular songs and my sister-in-law plays this song over and over at home, I’m just not into it. I prefer Chasing Penguins, err, Pavements and Rolling in the Deep. But!!! When I saw this video of Jake Coco... oh mi, oh my!  

Why do I find it that when guys sing girls’ songs, the songs sounded more romantic? Or is it just me?

Kamusta naman kaya ang feeling kung araw-araw may haharana sa ‘yong ganyan? Ay, ang haba ng hair mo, sister!

Instagram!?

Just when everybody is already an expert in or tired of Instagram, ngayon ko palang sha na-appreciate. I am such a late bloomer...duh!

The scissor gang!

I Need Space

...as in office space!

We had a little reorganization project in our ‘cute’, as what everybody who sees it comments, office. Quite a challenge as our office is really small. We have dared to rearrange the furniture several times over the years but we always end up to how it has been. We never acquire additional furniture unless we get rid of another. Well, the case is not the same with the employees of course. ^_^

Last week, the boss told me that since most of our staff is doing fieldwork, he plans to let 2 of his staff from the other business use some of the space in the office to become their working area. We have an extra telephone line that they can use exclusively.

So with a little pushing and tugging, we have managed to squeeze in some of the tables on one side. Here are some before and after pictures that I took...

Hmmm, seems like nothing changed! In the pictures, yes. But in real life, we were able to come up with this space that we didn't know exist until now!

We were very pleased. When the boss arrived, he said that we can still bring in a small round table that can be a common working area for our engineers. Ay, akala ko pwede nang dance floor! Chos!

At long last! After 10 years, the office looked somehow... different. I can't still say spacious. ^_^

We also took out our itsy bitsy Christmas Tree... now if we can only find where among the boxes did we put the other Christmas decors and we’re ready to decorate too!

Comfort Food

Nanay’s ginataang hipon with sigarilyas and kalabasa...

Haaaay, a taste of heaven!

 

Working Amber

With the boss’ permission (^_^), I went to the office last Saturday with the Hubby and Amber to print some documents that the Hubby needs that day. While I was busy printing, Amber also made herself busy...

  

Hmmm, pwede! Okay Amber, you can occupy that chair but only until your ninang gets back from her knee rehab. 

Gram’s Diner

Anticipating the heavy traffic last Friday, we decided to have our dinner before going home. 

We went to a restaurant that we haven’t tried yet, Gram’s Diner in Molito, Alabang. The very well lit restaurant is just so enticing that we walked in without even bothering to know first of their menu. I just know they serve steak from the smell of it! The drawings of cartoon strip characters on the walls also gave the place a casual feel.

The Hubby is watching Mighty Joe Black while I busy myself documenting 

As I sat down on our table, I noticed that they are serving Pepsi Sodas and that gave me a big smile because I’ll be having what else but bottomless dew!

They have nice glossy pictures of steaks, burgers and chicken on their menu, which are dominantly American dishes. The prices of the food are ok except for the drinks which I find so expensive! Bottomless soda costs P95!!! That means I have to consume 4.5 liters to make it sulit. :P

I wasn't really hungry so I had a hard time choosing what to order. In the end, I settled for a Carbonara while the Hubby ordered for Chicken Barbecue. I tried to sway the Hubby into ordering steak but he said he’s not in the mood and wanted to try the ‘Devilishly Good BBQ Chicken’, which I say was a very good choice! I tried a few bites and I liked it!

I also commend the servers for attentively refilling my soda. I didn’t have to call them to make the refill, which should be expected for a bottomless drink and which some restaurants that offer the same forget to take note of. I’m not mentioning the restaurant but there is one that we recently went to na we only got to make a single refill dahil maiimbyerna ka lang sa katatawag at kaabang ng servers.

We will definitely go back and try their other dishes, especially the burgers and steaks, some other time! ^_^  

Household Korean Craze

My Mom-in-law is so hooked into Korean Dramas and K-Pop. Promise! She never leaves her laptop anymore because she watches episodes after episodes of Korean Drama. When the internet fails her, she content herself by watching K-Pop concerts and music videos. Minsan, pinag-iinitan yung internet, dapat daw ipa-upgrade namin kasi ambagal ma-download nung dramas nya. She even sings with every song on its soundtrack. Alam at nasusundan nya yung lyrics! Kaloka!

She must have gotten the habit from my SIL, who is a die-hard fan of Korean dramas and music, when she took a vacation with her.

I remember when we fetched her up at the airport when she came back, we have waited so long for her in the arrival area that we thought maybe she had taken a flight instead to Korea, without any of us knowing.

Now, even Amber says “An Yeong”, “Ishima” and “Hamnida”. 

I learned that Chloe, SIL’s 2-year old daughter is also a big K-Pop fan! She holds a microphone while she sings and dances ala-K-Pop!

The family is being possessed by Koreans! Lol!

Oh, by the way, she really wants to go to Korea! She even purchased a Korean magazine that features tourist spots and how to go around Korea with ease. Ikaw na, Ma! Hahaha!

On Boxing And Moving On

It just occurred to me... the Pacquiao-Marquez fight reminds me of Real Steel (the latest movie I watched)!

Although of course, they’re not really the same-same in every details but one reminds me of the other every time I think about either of their fights.

For one, they’re both about boxing.

The invincible Zeus’ reputation has been tainted when Atom knocked him out twice! The defending champion Pacquiao took in too many punches from Marquez!

Atom did damage to Zeus. Marquez undeniably hurt Pacquiao with his powerful counter-punches!

Both fights reached their final rounds.

The defending champions were still pronounced winners.

The public questioned the decisions and cheered for those who didn't win.

Both have People’s Champs! Although in the movie, it was the underdog Atom, in real life, it’s the winner Pacquiao.

So?

Wala lang... I still am not over Real Steel, Pacquiao and Marquez... 

Okay-okay!!! I’m moving on. ^_^

Driver's License Renewal

I went to the LTO Driver’s License Renewal Center in ATC this morning. I got there at 7:45AM. There were about 3 to 4 persons inside the very cold room. So happy that their AC is working perfectly. It makes waiting very comfortable!

I wasn’t expecting them to entertain clients just yet because it’s not even 8 o'clock yet. But hey, a very diligent mister was already there ready to take pictures of those who are renewing their driver’s license. It wasn’t the first step but he’s taken the initiative to make the process faster for the early birds by doing what he can possibly accomplish while the first two windows were still unmanned. Good job there mister!

Window 1 says Pre-evaluation,
Window 2 is where they evaluate your requirements,
Window 3 is where you are supposed to have your picture & signature
captured but we did that in Window 6 instead.

By the way, here are the step-by-step procedures in renewing your driver’s license:

Requirements are your old license, Medical Certificate and Drug Test Result.

So my picture and signature had already been taken even before I was given the form. Took a number (#4!) and waited until the drug testing center opens.

After 10 minutes, they’ve called out numbers 1-5 and asked us to proceed to the drug test cashier. The fees are P300 for the Drug Test and P100 for the Medical Exam,... gave me a bottle to pee in,... took my picture and electronic signature again for the drug test result,... then waited for the doctor to arrive for the medical exam.

The doctor came in after about 15 mins. I think he is in his senior years. Nakakatuwa sha ha! He just asked me if I use eyeglasses, which I said I don’t. After that, he went on filling-out the medical result form. I was just looking. On my blood pressure, he wrote 110/70 without actually checking! Ay korek naman! That is normally my BP! I asked him how he knew. He replied that he knows just by looking at me. Bongga ni doc di ba? May gauge ang mata! I-report ko kaya sa PMA to?! But of course, if you are like most of us who just want to get over with the process, you would no longer make a fuss about it. Pero I still felt like I’ve been robbed of P100 for the medical fee! I was expecting for an eye, height, weight check and a BP monitoring just like what I had on my past renewals. But he did none of that. Nagsulat lang. Wala pa 2 mins, tapos na! Hay, so kaka ka dok! L

After another 10 minutes, the result for the drug test was released.

I then proceeded to Window 1 to submit the requirements. After a while, they announced that there will be a slight delay as their scanner had some technical problems. Hokey!

After about 20 minutes, I was called from the cashier to settle the fees. I paid P493 for License Fee (P350), Penalty (P75) and Computer Fee (P68). The penalty is for renewing my license 12 days later. You have to pay P75 if you are a day to 1 year past your license's expiration and P150 if it's 1 to 2 years late.

I already have my new license by 9:10AM.

It was fast but it could’ve been faster if not for the doctor and some technical delays they said. Still, it was fast and easy as compared to my past experiences! And I’m just glad that I don’t have to spend half of the day waiting. ^_^

Happy Feet 2

I wish Amber is old enough to watch this film with me in cinema. And I hope that this installment can level up to its prequel.

The first Happy Feet is so memorable. Although it’s a feel-good movie, it brings me sad memories. I watched Happy Feet on DVD alone. But that’s not the sad part yet...

I watched it around the time Papa (the Hubby’s father) was in the hospital. He's been there about a month before he passed away. Until now, the memories from that time still make my eyes dampen...

Back then, whenever the Hubby feels lonely missing Papa, I’d divert his attention by telling him the story of Mumble over and over. He'd listen intently as I try my hardest to be in my most jovial gullible way. Then he'd smile back and thank me. 

What Plant Is This?

While waiting for the green light in an intersection, I glanced upon this interesting plant...

Look like pineapple shoots!  But wait...

Until I saw what seemed like a stem that sprouted from it.

Aren’t they just nice? They're tall by the way! I still don’t know what its called though. ^_^