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Friday 29 April 2011

My Soul Sister and My Twin


It has been 2 years since the last time I saw my soul sister (May) and her sibling - my twin (Xaf). This picture was taken when after we all set up a date to meet up in Ubec for a mini-reunion. Despite the short span of time we spent together, I could very well remember that we had such a great time. Even when we got caught up in the middle of unfavorable weather, we managed to maximize our bonding time.

I just realized we 2 love C2

Lately, the summer heat has been making me more and more thirsty at any time of day. Various refreshing drinks have been a hit in my grocery list. My family and I have tried several bottled drinks, from tea, juice to soda, name it.. we've tried it. ^_^ But I just realized that both my daughter and I share the same passion for simple drinks such as iced tea (everyday is like walang kamatayang iced tea = bottomless!). It seems like we can't live without it. Apart from the usual powdered iced tea, we have been buying bottled tea drinks like C2 Cool & Clean Green Tea which is very convenient. I usually opt for the C2 lemon flavor (in yellow bottle), while my daughter prefers C2 apple flavor (in red bottle). I believe that drinking green tea is way better than drinking soda or synthetic fruit juices. C2 also comes in "lite" variants which is good for those health/weight conscious people.


Thursday 28 April 2011

Missing the fun and laughter


That's me with my good friend Emm who's also a blogger and my cousin TZ. We used to be pioneers of an online Korean tutorial company. We have shared so many memorable moments together and I miss our "old Saturday lunch-snack-bonding" at our former office. Too many secrets were revealed as we shared and feasted over a huge platter of Lucky Me Instant Pancit canton in chilimansi mixed with extra hot and spicy flavor and gulped down several liters of refreshing Nestea Iced tea.

Tuesday 26 April 2011

Which is which?


Am so confused as to which variant should I pick for tonight's late night snack. Hmmmm.. which is which??

I am the kind of person who loves to eat. That also means I love to eat anytime of the day and/or night. Whenever I feel like eating something heavy yet easy for me to prepare, the first thing that comes to mind is Lucky Me Instant Pancit Canton and/or Lucky Me Instant Noodles. Even when I used to work at the office, the easiest, most convenient and yummiest food for me to prepare was either instant canton or instant noodles. I have heard about the negative effects of eating instant food but so far, that has not stopped me from patronizing Lucky Me food products. In fact, it is what my daughter and I usually crave for during our movie marathons. It is also what keeps me going at work-nights (apart from my Kopiko and chichiria). I usually have various flavors stocked at home like: calamansi (for my lil' one), chili-mansi (for me), seafood noodles (for my mom) and seafood Chow Mien (for all 3 of us).

Monday 25 April 2011

The Power of Light

These days, when natural disasters (earthquakes, tsunamis, typhoons and flash floods) and fire incidents have become rampant, I began to worry about the possible power failure or power interruption. With an online job like mine, I can't just go offline due to a power interruption. Aside from that, the biggest reason for my concern was that a lot of important things couldn't be done just because of power interruption/failure. And some complicated situations may also arise because of having no light at all (especially at night). Thus, I thought it was time for me to buy a reliable flashlight, instead of using those cheap disposable penlights. Well, talk about "reliable", I opted to buy an Eveready Household LED flashlight with an Eveready Super Heavy Duty Battery to power it up. I always put it on top of my work/computer desk because it is where I am usually seated and it is also a few inches away from the bed which makes it easier to locate during brownouts.

Say hello to power, hello to EVEREADY LED technology!

A 4 year old girl's opinion on Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding

Today, I was just so surprised to hear some comments about Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, coming from my own 4 year old daughter - Andeng. She told me how everything on the TV news pissed her off. She evens asked why everyone is fussing over about the whole thing. She further said that both were "foreigners" and that we had exactly nothing to do with their lives and that people just had to let it pass. My oh my, it is indeed true that "Kids say the darndest things!" But somehow, I felt that she had her point. She was just being rational and opinionated about her feelings towards the sensation upcoming royal wedding.



Saturday 23 April 2011

My Dearest Susan

Whenever I want to relax at home, I listen to songs sang by people that are really soothing to the ears and can make me feel at peace. Two years ago, I came across a video of BGT's Susan Boyle while I was at work. The first impression of her by the judges and the audience was very negative as she showed a very cynical behavior. But not until she actually started to sing Les Miserables' "I Dreamed a Dream". She had an unbelievably powerful voice. I was so moved and extremely awed by her performance. It felt like you were being lifted from your own seat while listening to her. From then on, every time I felt like relaxing at home by watching and listening to music videos on Youtube, I would always browse for old videos of Susan Boyle.

Here's 2 of her performances for Britain's Got Talent audition, semi-finals and finals in 2009:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnmbJzH93NU&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7Ayk9G7-sc&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BvBkTmDWBA&feature=related




Wednesday 20 April 2011

They all cried FIRE on a Maundy Thursday!!! .

A smell of fire-caused smoke woke us up 2 hours ago. I kept myself composed and stayed rational despite every one's panic reaction and all the commotion outside the house. Of course, my mother and I immediately took the initiative to turn off our circuit breakers, called the police (which by the way was answered by a slow poke) and the fire station, and got out of the house. The smoke was from a building which was a just a few steps from our own house. Thank God all concrete commercial buildings have firewall(s) and it took only a few minutes for the fire truck and the firemen to arrive. The local firemen and their truck had less facilities needed to open up steel doors and huge padlocks. However, a few minutes later, ROGER CHIU owner of GRAPHIC All in One Store and his entire fire brigade came up with their 2 fire trucks complete with all the much needed facilities to help put down the fire. SYDNEY GAISANO and his men also came to help. It took them about an hour to put down the fire of the building's ground floor. Nonetheless, we are all thankful to God that nobody was hurt and the fire brigade volunteers did their job. I salute ROGER CHIU the man behind all Graphic Outlets and Graphic Fire Brigade, who was very hands-on in helping. Thank you, sir to you and your men and everyone else who helped; for being GOD's instrument.

THANK YOU LORD FOR SAVING EVERYONE! ^_^

Below are the pictures taken during the said incident.




The man wearing the red helmet is MR. ROGER CHIU of GRAPHIC All-in-One Stores and GRAPHIC Fire Brigade Volunteer.










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JUNK FOOD = COMFORT FOOD

At my age I am not supposed to stuff myself with too much junk food. However, the child in me still craves for it. Talk about a few of my guilty pleasures, huh. My all-time favorite is J&J Mr. Chips in Nacho Cheese flavor. I have also tried and loved its’ other variants: Pinoy Spaghetti and Sweet Barbeque flavors. When I am busy with blogging and exhausted with online teaching, I find comfort in eating these “junkies”. I treat my self to at least 3 small packs of junkie in a week. I guess a few servings would hurt. I am now down to my second pack, tee-hee-hee… ^_^


WARNING: EATING JUNK FOOD IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH (eat in small servings a week, if you like)


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KOPIKO coffee, anyone?

I have always loved to drink coffee. It perks me up and starts my day right. Drinking coffee has once become habitual for me. I used to consume about 3-4 cups in a day. But being my middle 30's I was getting a little bit health conscious so I had to cut-down my consumption to a maximum of 2 cups in a day. One cup upon waking up, and another cup to start my evening online tutorial job. I am picky when it comes to coffee. I don't really go for gourmet type of coffee as I am already satisfied with the usual 3-in-1 instant coffee sold in most grocery stores. But I can be very choosy when it comes to its’ taste. I prefer the so-called “strong coffee” variant. I have tried several different brands but having been a coffee drinker for 20 years or so, I must say that KOPIKO is the only one that has fully met my standards in choosing the best 3-in-1 instant coffee mix. You can actually smell the aroma of real coffee in KOPIKO. I love both variants: Strong & Rich Coffee (the one that perks me up every waking time) and Brown Coffee the one that makes me go through a long night of working). And if you prefer a REAL STRONG & RICH COFFEE, go ahead and try KOPIKO, you wouldn’t regret trading your old brand if you do. ;-)

This is what I have consumed for one week. I had to keep all these sachets so that whenever my family nags me about my coffee drinking habits, I can show them my evidence that I only drink 2 cups of coffee every single day. ^_^



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Tuesday 19 April 2011

BAGS AM SELLING NOW


Most of us girls love bags as much as we love clothes and shoes. I happen to come across these cute classy looking sling bags today and thought of buying and selling 'em. (but of course I got one for myself too, haha.)One thing that tickled my fancy at the sight of these bags was the unique design, the availability of compartments (despite it's being small in size), plus the double purpose of being able to use it as a clutch bag and a sling at the same time. Apart from that, it can be used for any occasion at any time of the day/night and may be paired with any kind of attire be it casual, semi-formal, formal, or even with uniforms.

Sling bags are also safer to use these days when a lot of bag snatchers are eyeing on their prey. Handbags and shoulders bags are easily snatched or even slashed without you even noticing that a bag slasher got his blade on your poor shoulder bag and took hold of your valuables already! With sling bags you can adjust it's strap to your desired length and even position it right in front of you, so no bag slasher or bag snatcher could possibly get their hand on it.

Check out more pictures of these cute sling bags, below:






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Monday 18 April 2011

Some of My Ever Reliable (daily-use) Cosmetic Items

Instead of talking about being positive, I felt a sudden urge to talk about some of the cosmetics I like to use every single day. Not that I am vain or whatsoever, but there imperfections I need to hide just so I can feel comfortable with how I look no matter where these feet of mine would take me. ;) A few years ago I breakouts on my face, say acne vulgaris and stuff...yes! I used to have lots of 'em. I had to see a dermatologist on a weekly basis just to have it treated. I never really had sensitive skin, but I guess the problem had a lot to do with genes. Sadly, most of us in the family be it from the maternal or paternal side, suffered from pimples/acne. And after all the expensive treatments I had, I became more cautious of the cosmetics I use. When I was single, I splurged and thrived on VMV cosmetics. It was the most affordable hypoallergenic brand of cosmetics back then. I sticked to everything hypoallergenic for fear of having breakouts again. Until such time, that investing on cosmetics seemed extremely expensive for me that I had to find other brands that were affordable yet non-harsh to the skin. Finding the perfect brand of make-up was a tough trial-and-error experience for me. In a way I was fortunate though because I had a sister who works in UK and she sent me a Natural Collection Loose Powder in neutral translucent shade. It comes in a traditional jar with a sifter. When I applied it to my face (using a powder brush), it was very mild to the skin and caused NOT a single blemish or a rash. It gave a natural matte finish and oil free look. And this product only costs £1.99!! (at any Boots Pharmacy or outlet). And with that, I also bid goodbye to costly pressed powders!



*This is the actual item that I am using.*


Primers and foundations were never in mind whenever I bought cosmetics. Although I have tried using Ellana brand of mineral foundation and it's results were satisfying, I opted to look for something new.. something that can be like a tinted moisturizer and concealer all rolled into one product. Then I came across a local brand: Splash SkinWhite 3-in-1 Power White Face Cream Powder. I was not into facial whitening products but I was so curious with how the product works after hearing good feedbacks from a co-online teacher of mine. This product comes in a form of a cream but once applied to the skin it transforms into powder, you can actually feel it as you apply it evenly with your fingertips. The result was amazing. It gave the coverage I wanted to achieve, and indeed there was no need for a concealer to hide unsightly dark under-eye circles plus it acted a facial moisturizer that's got SPF 15 sunscreen protection! Now that is one hell of a totally amazing product there! Talk about light make-up and not getting that powdery effect on your face, you guys gotta try it. Also feels like using a BB cream. If you'd ask me about side effects, I'd say none; it never made me itch with a rash or freak-out due to a breakout. It also gives the much preferred matte finish, that erases the oily or shine free look plus it lasts the whole day, unless of course if you're bathed in sweat, LOL. Seriously, this product is also highly recommended by yours truly. Why crave and splurge on "uber" expensive cosmetics when you can have cheap finds like this one, only 19.00 PhP for a single sachet trial pack. Aside from it's super affordable price , this product is proudly Filipino-made! Let's start patronizing our very own products. ;-)




*Mine, I decided to put the SkinWhite PW face powder cream in my beloved Hello Kitty jar.*




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Sunday 17 April 2011

If's and but's...then.. could've and would've

*A GOOD READ FOR NON-RISK-TAKERS OUT THERE*

In life there are so many things that we can do to make living worthwhile. But more often than not, our action plans are hindered by the so-called if's and but's: If I could make it, if I believed, if only I can, if I may, but I don't want to get hurt, but I don't want to get into trouble, but it would be a mess, so many if's, and so many but's.. Why can't we just set our minds to doing exactly what we wanted without really thinking about all these (negative) possibilities? Life can be more fun and exciting if we try dipping into deeper waters! Not to mention every experience we would go through will surely leave us a lesson or two. Or have we forgotten that living our life is actually a learning experience itself?

With all those if's and but's, sometimes follow the could've and would've lines: could've done it, could've been there, would've been happy, would've been lucky, could've won, etc...And in your mind it all boils down to one thing: REGRET(S) And so goes the lines: "Had I done it, I could've been happier", "If only I took the risk, I would've been satisfied." etc.. So why not take risks? After all, life is too short to start with qualms and end up with regrets. Let's be more positive! (And I'll be talking about being positive in my next blog.)

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This is me... "seriously"..

I am person who wants nothing but a simple and well-balanced life. Harmony and balance in every aspect of life, spells my name. It is perhaps influenced by being a Libran although, I have totally forgotten about horoscope's correlation with my personality. If either of the two (harmony & balance) is missing, my whole life would be a total disaster.

Being the ordinary person that I am, I also have my share of life's ups and downs. But despite of having mostly the downs' I keep myself focused. My main concern at this point in time is more of working hard for the good of one person who has made my life turn 360 degrees around and that is no other than my only child, my princess.. =)

Nonetheless, no matter how life can erratic and stressful (sometimes), I still find time to unwind. Recently, I discovered that writing was a great way to de-stress oneself. I used to be such a lazy writer, I felt it was a tad to technical for a task. But these days, when I started writing I can't seem to stop, I found out that there were so many things I could write about, and it made me feel good afterwards.

And so I welcome you to my new world, my own space, my haven.. my heaven!

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Saturday 16 April 2011

TECHIE OR NOT ( hi technology )

Choosing a mobile phone and a laptop was never a bother to me since I am not the "techie" type of person. iPhones and Macbooks never seemed to tickle my fancy. Majority of my mobile phones and my one and only laptop, are hand-me-downs from my older sister (who happens to be the "techie" one). Nonetheless, being an online English tutor has prompted me to be concerned with the gadgets I am using. Being able to have classes even during a brownout, typhoon, tsunami, or earthquake must be a major option to accomplish tasks for a job that hardly ever allows you to be absent. The question as to whether a mobile phone can be installed with Skype messenger, tops the list of questions I ask; whenever I make inquiries regarding its’ specifications. Laptops or netbooks are good but most batteries don’t last way too long; and I shall need a back-up in case it drains in the middle of my class. And this only means: I need to have both gadgets badly! Whew! I need a gadget with good quality but fairly affordable price. Quality wise, an iPhone can be a very good option (it has Skype which I can use for my classes!!), but its’ cost is way too high for my budget. Androids are good too. But finding the perfect Android can be a real headache. And I never thought there were issues about “laptops vs. netbooks” that needs to be taken into consideration when buying one. And so the journey in finding the best yet affordable gadgets continue. Anyone of you there might have good suggestions. I really need help on this dilemma.

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Friday 15 April 2011

mickey

LIMITLESS

Genre: Mystery & Suspense, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Synopsis: Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Cooper) is suffering from chronic writer's block, but his life changes instantly when an old friend introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary new pharmaceutical that allows him to tap his full potential. With every synapse... More
Rated: PG-13 See Full Rating
Running Time: 1 hr. 45 min.
In Theaters: Mar 25, 2011 Wide
US Box Office:£64.1M
Distributor:Relativity Media
Directed By: Neil Burger

Cast