Movie To Watch: Shutter Island

Pag nanonood ka pala ng psycho-thriller film, you may end up losing your mind, too. Well, I was that close while watching Shutter Island because I kept on speculating and hoped that I would say, “I knew it!” when the movie ends.

Critics acclaimed that DiCaprio and director Martin Scorsese made a great team in this very compelling movie. I see no reason why I would say otherwise.

Was I able to say that I knew it? At certain situations, yes. But there are more to be revealed than what is obvious. 

I promised myself not to give any spoilers. It is only fair that other viewers who are only about to see it lose their minds too, right? LOL. Besides, I don't want to ruin the excitement. 

Seeing the movie makes me want to read the book it was based upon. I hope my trusted nearby Booksale has this on its shelves. ^_^

Peanut & Caramel Chip Cookies

Quick snack sharing muna. Dahil marami-rami na rin akong nai-post na quick fix snack, lulubusin ko na. Todo na baga. ^_^

I tried this yesterday...

... and I liked it! ^_^

If you are already bored with chocolate chip cookies, not that a real chocolate person will really find anything with chocolates boring, try this cookie! It has caramel and peanut bits that you can actually taste in every bite.

Plus it’s very affordable pa!

Looking Forward To March 1

Tomorrow is March 1! Yipeee!!!

This day is special for me and to those working in Muntinlupa City because it’s a local holiday for us. It’s the city’s Charter Day. Since I moved in with the Hubby’s family in Caloocan when Amber was born, this has been my ME-TIME of the year.

People at home, except the Hubby, think I go to work. They haven’t found out that I sneak out every March 1 and do whatever I fancy. Well, I don’t really do something outlandish naman. This is the day I give my Nanay my undivided attention. 

I go to her on March 1. Not that I don’t go to her often but on this day, I go there alone and spend almost the entire day with her, without the Hubby and Amber. We just eat, chat, nap and eat and chat again. We would go to the mall if she feels like it... just like when it was only us. Shempre, it's more fun now that we have the Hubby and Amber but it just feels good going back to the old times once in a while.

Because the Hubby goes to work, he will drop me to Nanay's house instead of in the office in the morning. Then we will just meet after his work and go home as if it was an ordinary work day for me. ^_^

Color Game Night

Nowadays, it’s Amber who dictates what we do before sleep-time. Sometimes she would ask us to sing or jump on the bed or dance or count or she just sings at the top of her lungs making neighbors wonder if we are butchering a pig late at night. Last night was a color game night.

The Hubby and I pointed at things then Amber would identify their color. I’m surprised that she already knows ‘brown’ and ‘gray’ in addition to the primary and secondary colors that she knows, not to mention ‘black’ and ‘white’.

Often times, we test her by identifying colors wrongly like we say red for orange. She’ll look at us and say, “orange yan, da bah?”. She sounds so funny.

Then the Hubby asked her, “What color is Mommy?”. Amber said “Pink”. ^_^

In return I asked, “What color is Daddy?”. Without thinking, she said, “BROWN!”. Daddy made a face.  J

See, she really knows colors by heart! Okay na yun Daddy, at least she hasn’t learned color intensities yet, wala pang dark, medium dark, light, etc. Or that she didn’t say ‘black’. Hahaha! Saka that’s what really happens when you have outdoor activities, your complexion suffers. ^_^

The Crazy Get-Together

My highschool friend Jhulie Anne is in town for a vacation. Of course, the group didn’t let it pass to be an excuse to meet up. ^_^

Roll Call, L-R : Jhulie, Yes-yes, me, Piche and Ate Liza. All mommies now!

We had dinner at Cravings. As usual, we will not be tagged as the Crazy Girls for nothing. We must have annoyed a few customers, to whom I ask forgiveness. It is not every day that we meet so pardon us for being a bit loud and for behaving quite inappropriately, pleasy-please?;-)

We were so busy making chika that I forgot to take a picture of the food we ordered. :-(

It is always a blast to meet up with these girls. Never a dull moment! What we mostly talked about are our kids, motherhood, the people we are displeased with (yes, we also share our dislike for some people), giving birth the CS way (since 4 of us underwent CS), the guys in highschool (who most of the girls regret of admiring, they almost puked, lol!) and a lot lot more!

After we had our tummies full (THANK YOU JHULIE FOR PAYING FOR OUR DINNER ^_^), we spent some time at Starbucks courtesy of Ate Liza naman. Well, we went there because Cravings will be closed in a while and I had to wait for the Hubby to pick me up before we finally call it a night. Though I wished the night would be longer.

We bid adieu at 10 past 12AM. I was still in high spirits that time. Feeling like 16 again.

Thank you, girls! You never fail to make my evening fun-filled! I am so looking forward to the middle of next year for our bonggang reunion with our families. I’m sure it will be an epic event!

Hubby Is A Year Wiser!

It was the Hubby’s birthday last Saturday. Initially he wanted to have a not-so-long road trip up north. Then dine there, maybe discover and explore some new and nice places. I was prepared to browse the net for places to visit in Subic, Bulacan or Bataan area when Mama said we should watch the firework competition at MOA on Saturday!

Then we thought, why not? It’s nearer and at least we don’t have to rush out in coming up with an itinerary within 2 days! So the plan has been made. MOA it is! I jokingly told the Hubby that his birthday is so bongga at may pa-fireworks pa!

Kaso... no plan took place on his birthday. Sadly. Yan ang hirap sa plano ng plano eh! Hay! If I knew that Mama will back-out from MOA on that very same day because of the anticipated heavy traffic due to the EDSA People's Power celebration, I could have gone on with my search for some nice places to dine at not-so-far north. But it was already late to make new plans as we woke up late that day. 

Ayun, we ended up having a birthday lunch for the Hubby instead. We had lunch delivered from Savory, which I mega-failed to take photos of. Okay na rin except that I’m so nanghihinayang for the day. We could have celebrated it someplace else.

At least we had an afternoon activity, the 3 of us! Hubby volunteered to help his Aunt move in to their new house a few kilometres away. Amber and I rode with the Hubby as they move Tita’s appliances and things. But hey, our family made a good mover ha! Hehehe! ^_^

Bawi na lang kami next time, Daddy. Hope you had a great time on your birthday despite the cancellations. We’ll stick to our plans next time.

Happy birthday Daddy love! We love you! XOXO

Mister Donuts Chicken Burger With Creamy Pesto

I realized now that I like everything that has Pesto Sauce in it – pasta, burger, you name it! It’s my favorite sauce of the season. ^_^

Mister Donuts redeemed itself to me, big time, with its Chicken Burger with Creamy Pesto! I was supposed to try Em’s recommended Sunriser from Country Styles... when I decided to give Mister Donuts another try. And oh my golly! The Chicken Burger did not disappoint! Big thanks to the Creamy Pesto Dressing.

For only P75/order

It also helped that it comes with potato chips as a side dish. I was not familiar with the flavor that I was served with but I guess that it’s also a pesto-flavored chip judging from the color of the bits, a little spicy though. And it has a very strong flavor which you will get used to in every bite. It’s good but I would have favored a salted plain chips to go with the burger.

I so like the burger! The chicken patty has this grilled barbecue flavor. It's on a bed of Chinese lettuce and topped with the creamy pesto dressing, a slice of tomato and cheese. Argh! Just describing it makes me crave for more.

I had it paired with Coffee Freeze and they made a perfect brunch! ^_^

Amber, Our Sleep-Guard

Mama and I were chatting yesterday when she mentioned something that Kate told her about Amber. Conversation went like this...

Mama: Alam mo, mabait talaga si Amber.

Oh sha Ma, love and patronize your own. Hahaha!

Me: Bakit, Ma?

Mama: Kagabi kasi, pumasok si Kate sa kwarto. Tulog na daw kayo (Hubby and I), si Amber gising pa, nakaupo lang sha tapos sabi nya kay Kate, “Tita Kate, quiet lang ha, sleeping na Mommy, Daddy.” (while her index finger is on her lips, hushing Kate).

Aaawwww. Mama continues...

Mama: Ganun din nung isang gabi, pagpasok ko sa kwarto, tulog na kayo pero gising pa sha. Sabi ko sleep na Amber. Sabi nya, “Ok Mama, good night”, tapos pumikit na sha.

There was also an instance when she wanted to play with me, I was really tired then and would fall asleep in any minute when I heard her say, “Mommy, tired na? Sleep ka na ha!”.

I guess, the days that she jumps on me and pokes my eyelids when she wants me awake, despite my grogginess, is over! She now understands that Mommy needs to sleep, too. Hurrah!

She really is a sweet little girl. I hope she stays that way. I pray that she grows up not scared to express her emotions, pretty much like us when we were growing up. Yeah, we are guilty in that department. But I’m trying to correct that for Amber. No matter how sleepy I am, I always always remember to tell her I love her before I drift to sleep she goes to sleep. Why would I ever forget telling her that when I get the sweetest reply of I LOVE YOU, MOMMY from her every time I do! Haaay! The joys of parenthood! ^_^

Playground Afternoon

Last weekend, Daddy, Amber and I strolled around the village. It was a joy to see Amber having such a good time just by walking along with us. She kept on saying "weeee!" with such glee! ^_^

There is a playground near the village gate. We had her try the seesaw. She was excited but was very cautious. Look at her grip on the handle bar... 

She was able to relax and enjoy the seesaw after a while.

The swings were already occupied by other kids so she didn’t have the chance to play on them. Both slides naman were a bit dirty :-( so she posed beside it na lang.

After a few more strolling-minutes, she led us back home. Pagod na daw sha.

The Hubby told me this morning that we should do that often because he noticed that Amber was so relaxed the entire night even if she didn’t get her afternoon nap. Dati, she will already be grouchy at around 7PM if she wasn’t able to nap earlier. Even if we failed to attend to her immediately when she called for us, she never showed any signs if impatience.

I think that little afternoon walk really did something good to her mood. Yeah, we might do that more often. ^_^

Meet Pink And Yellow

“Amber din, PINK! Amber din, PINK!”

I was really puzzled as to whatever 'PINK' it was that she wanted. I have already showed her bunch of toys that are pink but she just kept on saying she wants ‘PINK’! It wasn’t even her pink punas (washcloth) that she wanted.

When she started to show impatience, I tried to calm her and asked her if she can bring Mommy the ‘PINK’ thing. She turned her back at me, left and after a while, she came back with this...

I see, it was her vitamins! Who would have guessed? Eh hindi lang naman pink ang nandun, meron din yellow, purple, etc.!

Then I just figured out that she only chews the pink tablets. She would put all the other colored-tablets back. Sino kaya ang iinom nun, duh?!?

---------------------

One night, days after the first incident, she came to me and said she wanted ‘YELLOW’. With confidence, I picked out a yellow tablet multi-vit from the same bottle and gave it to her. Sabi, “Ayaw! Amber din YELLOW”. Hala! Nagpanic na naman ako! Ano na naman kaya yung ‘YELLOW’???

Again, I told her, “O sige, can Amber bring YELLOW to Mommy?”.

She came back with this...

I know. Orange naman yung tablet but since it’s on the pale side, sige na, pagbigyan na natin ang bagets. Yellow kung yellow!

So Mommy, meet PINK and YELLOW! Never forget that they are PINK and YELLOW!

It’s not easy to make her drink her vitamins pero pag naisipan, she asks for it any time of the day, kahit before bedtime. Si Yellow, we let her take at most 2 tablets a day since it's only Vit C. But with Pink, we only give her once a day.

   

There you go, the tale of PINK and YELLOW. 

The Old-Fashioned Magic Slate

Nanay gave Amber a Magic Slate. Yes, the old-school magic slate! I didn’t know that they still have these in stores these days.

For the benefit of the very new generation -- before the dawn of those Magic Magnetic Writers that are made of a white plastic board enclosed in a plastic casing where there is a protruding button that you slide to erase whatever you have jotted down on the board, we used to write on and play with these old fashioned paper/cardboard magic slates.

She just stared at it when Nanay gave it to her. She looked uninterested at first. But when we showed her how to use it, especially when she saw how the scribbles were erased with just a single flip of the plastic-like-paper, she became excited to use it.

Yun lang, I wasn’t able to take pictures of her sketches as she was very quick to erase them. ;-\

No Signal

One fine quiet weekend afternoon, everybody in the household seemed busy doing their own stuff when suddenly...

“Dadddddyyyyy!!! No signal! Come!”.

That was Amber in her most shrilling voice.

Daddy, a little baffled stood up and approached the little girl who was watching an alphabet video on youtube. He asked, “Panong walang signal?”.

Here was what’s on the monitor...

Apparently, she opened another google chrome window just as the wi-fi failed.

Amber gave out a sigh and said (with conviction), “Sabi ko, no signal eh. Not ‘vailable oh! See?”. Then crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.

Don’t ask me! ^_^

Something In Common

Mother’s Day is about 3 months away! Hey APPLE, you might want to consider this for your Mother’s Day Ads (WHY? ARE THEY PLANNING TO PUT UP ONE? ABA EH, MALAY NATEN?! At least, nanawagan na ko! ^_^).

Photo grabbed from brother-in-law's facebook

This is my SIL with her equally beautiful daughter Chloe in her most charming smile, busying themselves with Apple gadgets. Oo, kayo na ang mag-inang hindi mahilig sa APOL! ^_^

Korean Treats

I always enjoy having our foreign business partners come here to visit us... kasi they bring us loads of treats!

Two of our foreign partners from Korea are here for a very short visit and they brought us 3 bags full of these:

Custard Cake. This is very yummy!
The filling is like the ones they put inside cream puffs. Luvet!

C-H-O-C-O-L-A-T-E-S!!! I'll postpone my diet until I'm done with them!

They have very good chocolates in Korea. Not as creamy as the Swiss chocolates but the taste is comparable! The bitter ones, I enjoy the most!

Kam sa hamnida, Mr. Kim and Mr. Cho! Send my love to my ex-bfs Lee Dong Wok and Lee Min Ho. LOL!

Ma, I am so loving Korea na din! Hahaha! Pero next to my beloved Philippines lang shempre! ^_^

Movie Time: Friends With Benefits

Sniff! Sniff! There goes those drops of tears again. Yeah, I know! I’m such a cry baby! Crying over Friends With Benefits. Duh! To think it’s a comedy film. What the heck! Walang basagan ng trip. :-p

This is one of the reasons why I like chick flicks! It makes me human. WUTEVER! And I get kilig even if I don’t find JT too hot to be kilig-worthy. But I must admit that he has a very nice and shapely behind! Well, it was really the very subtle yet very touching scenes that I enjoyed the most of course (yeah, right! ~grin~).

It’s like I know that there will be a point in the movie where it would definitely get cheesy as how any romantic comedy films go but because of its spontaneity, the cheesy part hit me like that unexpectedly.

I’m starting to love Mila Kunis. Her character in this movie is so naturally easy-going that it makes me think if it was really her who played Lily in Black Swan where she was so mysterious and cold-hearted. This time, one could easily fall in love with her character.

And oh, I get so mesmerized with her big brown eyes! ^_^

Hay naku, I wish someone would arrange a flash mob for me in Grand Central Station! <sa EDSA MRT ba yung counterpart nun dito? Hahaha! Wag na lang pala, mahirap na mag-cause ng pandemonium>!

Sweet Treats On Heart's Day And A Big ?

So Valentine’s Day is over? Yuhuuu! Done with my Valentine’s Day hibernation. LOL!

And it makes me feel great knowing that my hubby and I are not the only Scrooges of Valentines. From what I’ve read during my blog-hopping, there are quite too many. ^_^

Oh yes, we’ve never ever gone out on a date on Valentine’s day even when we were still dating. For so many reasons. One of them is the terrible traffic. Another is having a hard time finding a place to dine since most of the restaurants are jam-packed with we-must-date-on-valentine’s-day couples and families.

But! Medyo naiba ang ihip ng hangin this Valentine's day. Nope, we still didn’t go out on a date. But the Hubby gave me sweets! I would have thought that it was only a coincidence that he gave it to me on the 14^th and it has nothing to do with Valentine’s Day but he also greeted me a Happy Valentine’s. Hmmm, anong nangyayari?

Oh well, he actually gave me Kitkat chocolates, a heart-shaped cookie (which Amber munched on the moment she saw it) and this:

Why Kitkat? Because a few days ago, I was scouring our fridge for Kitkat. I was really craving for it. I’m so happy that he remembered that without me reminding him! Well, ganun naman ako kababaw eh, thoughts alone make my heart melts.

The Meringue Bites? For the record, I’m not really fond of it. Why he gave me that? It’s his favorite. So now, you know why he bought that for me. FOR ME DAW! Ang sweet di ba? (^_^) But I brought it with me sa office so hindi din sha ang kumain. Hahaha!

I have to admit that I was surprised that he gave me treats on this particular day. Making me think if this is some sort of a plot, you know, just like in the movies where the actor suddenly does things extra out of his way for the lead actress before he spills out a smelly bean. Or maybe, I'm just over-analyzing things. Baka nga napana lang ni kupido ulit si Hubby loves.  

So anyhow, that’s just us, the not-celebrating-Valentines-Day-couple. But to those who celebrates V-day, a late heart’s day greetings from me to you! ^_^

Pulpy Pomelo

Ever since I learned that the Hubby’s colleague from Davao is flying to Manila for their 3-day business conference in Tagaytay, I’ve been bugging him to ask Glen to buy me pomelos. Well, I was expecting to get 2 at the most because it would be too much naman to ask for the whole tree, di ba? But hey, hey, hey! Look at what we have here...

A box full of pomelos! With 11 pomelos to be exact. Oh my, I was sooooo happy!

For those who do not know, I can wolf down 1 pomelo in 1 sitting (err, I think that went a little overboard. Let me clarify that - I eat it 1 section at a time ha. I cannot gobble the entire fruit, ok? ^_^). And I’m really not so keen in sharing. Haha! Damot much.

And since my little girl loves ‘meh-low’ (as how she calls it, stressing out that it’s not mango. Don’t ask me how she relates them, I don’t know why as well) as much, I tried to double-check its nutritional values to know what my little girl will benefit from it. Well, I know that it is rich in Vitamin C but what do we really get out of eating loads and loads (in my case) of it. Here’s what I got from www.lifestyle.iloveindia.com:

Nutritional Value Of Pomelo

Amount of Pomelo: 1 cup

Total Weight of Pomelo: 100 g

Nutrients	Amount
Basic Components
Protein	0.6 g
Fats	0.2 g
Calories
Total Calories	37.0
Calories From Carbohydrate	32.6
Calories From Fat	2.0
Calories From Protein	2.4
Carbohydrates
Total Carbohydrate	9.2 g
Dietary Fiber	1.2 g
Sugars	7 g

~Hmmm, how many sections is 100 grams kaya? I hope it’s the whole fruit para I could tell myself that I’m only having 37 calories per 1 whole pomelo. Harharhar!~

  

Nutrition Benefits Of Eating Pomelo

Though pomelo juice is acidic in nature, it helps in the digestive process of the body, by having an alkaline reaction after digestion.

Pomelo rind contains huge amount of bioflavonoid that can stop the cancer cells from spreading the effect of breast cancer in a patient, by making the body get rid of the excess estrogen.

The high amount of vitamin C present in the body makes the fruit an effective stimulant that facilitates in strengthening and maintaining the elastic nature of the arteries.  

Pomelo is also effective against fatigue, diabetes, fever, insomnia, sore throat, stomach and pancreatic cancer and other such infectious diseases.

Pomelo contains pectin which proves to be very effective in reducing the accumulation of arterial deposits in the body, thereby clearing out all the impurities.

Pomelo is also useful in reducing the cholesterol count in the body, thus saving you from running the risk of various heart related problems. 

Pomelo can also prove out to be useful for people seeking out weight loss. The fat burning enzyme in pomelo absorbs and reduces the starch and sugar content in the body contributing towards weight loss. ~all smiles~

Pomelo is also useful in cleaning the RBCs which are very essential for the body to breathe fresh air. It keeps the RBCs away from all sorts of toxins and impurities.

There you go! More to eating pomelos for me and my little girl! Thank you, Glen! Please come to Manila more often! Hmm, can you sense an ulterior motive there? ^_^

More On Amber’s Korean Craze

Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you in a nakakapagod na dance number... Amber!

So funny! And she was also very game in having her video taken while she dances to the tune of Kung Tari Shabara by Ms. A and 2PM. The latest favorite dance song in the house! Courtesy of course by Mama dear. ^_^

This is how the video goes...

She enjoys the song so much that she drops whatever she’s doing just so she can dance to this song. Maybe because of its very catchy music and the cute and easy dance step who I think anybody could dance with (But no!!! You will never catch me dancing this! I’ll make sure of that. ;-p).

Argh! Judging from these videos, I better save up for her dancing school if I’d like her to dance with Bugoy (that cute little boy that dances so good in ABS-CBN) in the future! ^_^

Mister Donuts Tuna Sandwich

Since I’m a suki of Dunkin Donut’s Bunwich and Croissants, I was enticed to try Mister Donuts sandwiches for a change.

They have this very nice serve-yourself-donut counter and restaurant in Trinoma. Sayang lang di ko nakunan ng pichur yung display nila. It never fails to make me drool over those mouth-watering treats!

I ordered for their Spicy Tuna Sandwich at P45 (hmmm, surprisingly affordable!). While they were preparing my sandwich, I indulged with my favorite Mallow Bites and Coffee Freeze. Yeah, I know, sweetness overload!

I am sooo proud of this shot! ^_^

Before I was finished with my second Mallow Bite, here comes my sandwich...

The first bite reminded me so much of Century Spicy Tuna! In fact, it’s just that with mayonnaise. I didn’t taste any seasoning at all. Zero for effort! L I swear that the tuna spread my SIL made a few days ago is by miles better!

Oh well, it was filling nevertheless.

I maybe just had the wrong choice of sandwich for my first Mister Donuts sandwich experience. Looking back, I should’ve ordered that burger they serve with potato chips. It looked more delish! Will definitely try that on my next visit and hope that it is indeed better.

They also have pasta which I’m so willing to try on my next food adventure. ^_^

Where Did They Go?

Where did the comments on the SPAM Comment Folder go?

I only discovered a while ago that I had 5 comments in the SPAM folder. When I marked them and click the ‘NOT A SPAM’ button, they suddenly disappeared. I haven’t even read them yet. L

Another Chocolate Chips Cookie!

Who is not familiar with Cream-O? It’s like the local Oreo, isn’t it? I so love their chocolate-coated-vanilla-cream-filled-chocolate-sandwich-cookies (whew! Boy, that was loooong!). It used to be my baon when I was in elementary. ^_^

Now, they have lots of goodies to share. Let me start off with their Chocolate Chips Cookies, which my officemate gave me before he went out for a fieldwork. Thanks-thanks!

Each pack comes with 2 cookies. I like that it has a generous amount of chocolate chips in it.

Verdict? It has the right amount of crunchiness and sweetness for me. It leaves a bitter taste to my tongue though, making me think that the cookie was a little burnt. Pero overall, I enjoyed munching it. ^_^

Looking forward to trying more of Cream-O's new offerings.