cute - sies!

love, Z

back in boots, yay!

one of my first posts in 2011 was a delighted -- yay, boots! when i wore my fitflop boots for the first time...

this month, i am back to blogging and in boots (both old and new, and with y in boots too!)...wink, wink!

and since i have been rummaging my closet for all the oooooooooold clothes and shoes i kept for the past decade (or so), i am keeping my fingers crossed hoping to find the first pair of boots i bought when i was still a student...good luck to me :)

love,

z

My A.H. delusions

While watching "Breakfast at Tiffany's" on a long-haul flight last December 2012, I fell asleep with this scene in mind...

Image from Google



I guess the scene went straight into my subconcious because while we were strolling at a theme park a few days later, I saw this decorative jewelry shop window, and I had to convince the Big Boy to take a photo of me with the churros the Little Boy was eating.

(It was embarrassing trying to describe the effect I wanted to someone who does not see any hint of resemblance between me and Audrey Hepburn (hihi), and torturous as it was like 10 degrees Centigrade, but very windy and felt like zero, and I had to take off my jacket so I don't look very fat, and over the protest of the Little Boy who wanted his churros back.)

So, after several re-takes, I finally settled for this....

Wahaha!  I know, Audrey Hepburn lang ang peg.  But putting it bluntly, it was delusional wahahaha!!!

xoxo, Y

Busog Trip 15: The Thai Kitchen

An immediate family invited us to lunch one weekend. It was at Robinson's  Galleria. The joint  was called The Thai Kitchen. It was a buffet eat all you can set up. 

Thai food is tied to spices and when I say spices, the term includes hot and strong to nose and mouth watering. 

I tried their Thai Mango salad and placed a little corn kernel to add some sweetness. I almost choked when I chewed a bit of labuyo. Oh boy, it was the toughest part of eating- recovering from the numbness that the spices gave your tongue. I almost asked for an electric fan to cool down my taste buds.

Of course, the authenticity of a Thai resto is defined by its rendition of Pad Thai. It was alright...only there's something missing from the toppings. Could it be the peanuts or the greens. I really dont know if it's because of the labuyo I chewed. Something is missing.

Next is the spicy squid ( I never learned). One thing unforgettable is their rice cake/ pudding with ripe mango. Oh it's heavenly. It made me forget that I was tracking my calories.

Over- all it was the experience and the moment I spent with family  that made the lunch date unforgettable.

X

Sunrise , Sunset

Since I fell in love with running, I made it a point to wake up just before sunrise. I am thankful that I started this new passion while I can still run or walk at some distance. I get to see beautiful sunrises and early morning mists rising from the moist ground. In the afternoon, I get to see beautiful sunsets.

Agno River on a November morning. This is where water  from San Roque Dam pass

sunrise

"Daang Matuwid"

Cordillera Mountains

Mist along McArthur Highway

Here Comes the Sun in Tarlac

Manila Bay Sunset

My December goal is to catch the sunrise on top of Mt. Sto Tomas.

X

Four Decades of Learning

image from siliconbayounews.com

I am on my 4^th decade on the planet.

I am so grateful to my Creator for giving me a beautiful life to enjoy. I just wish I would live longer and enjoy more decades on planet Earth.

Every decade gave me great lessons which I will treasure till I grow very old and will gladly share with my dear DS and future GCs. Some are funny, painful and life-changing.

Significant lessons learned…

First Decade:

There is more to life than toys and escaping grandparents at siesta time and fooling around. I used to think that playing “patintero” and “bahay-bahayan” would fulfill my existence as a human being. My maternal GM used to lock the front door of their old house during vacation days to ensure that I take a nap every afternoon. On several occasions, I managed to outwit my GM, escape with my equally rowdy cousins and run around chasing dragonflies in the rice fields or climbing our neighbor’s guava tree. One time, I set fire on a portion of my GM’s dirty kitchen when one of the cardboards used to start fire got burned after playing a box of matches and “watusi”.

Santa Claus isn’t real. Santa Claus is just a fictional character used by people who failed to buy a gift for a kid on Christmas. My Ma used to say, “Better go and get plenty of sleep so you’ll have enough energy to talk to Santa and ask any gift you want.” Why is it that whenever I wake up in time for the midnight meal (noche buena), my sister would always say “You overslept. He just left but gave you something under the Christmas tree.” Until I caught my Pa forcing to stuff a doll (I wished for Christmas) in a small socks behind our main door.

You will not go to jail when you unintentionally hurt someone. The policeman is a uniformed man used by parents to stop a naughty child. Uh-oh… You will not go to jail when you run over another child with your sister’s bicycle. That incident in the 80’s really scared me and made me literally hide under my GM’s bed due fear of the uniformed men. It was a hot summer afternoon when my cousins invited me to go biking. Corn cobs are everywhere and were even dried on the cemented streets. We were racing when a child smaller than I, crossed the street while eating steamed corn. After hitting him, I instantly ran away like a fugitive while another neighbor was screaming to the hurt child in Ilocano “Hala, napungsi amin nga ngipen nan” (Hala, all his teeth fell off.”).  My teenage cousins scared me telling me that the police are going to get me. Hmmm, bullying was not an issue then.

Second Decade:

You cannot look at your crush straight into his eyes without blushing. I hide whenever I see my crush. My crush was tall (but I was taller), not so dark and quite cute (but BH is more good looking! Hihihi!). He’s no Bradley Cooper or Matthew McConaughey, but he was cute. I can’t look at him when he talks to me and when he’s not around I shriek like a cat. As I grew older, I realized that cute is only for pets. So, the idea of crush was crushed and I loved my dogs more. Hahahaha! Only to realize that he also liked me. Huwaw!

High school is full of bullies. Most high school girls are vain. What is important to you in high school may not be when in college. High school life is a breeze. Breeze of bullies and bullied (I belong to both), vain boys and girls and fashion conscious kids. Getting my high school education from an exclusive school for girls, I had my share of bullying and getting bullied. It was only when I experienced the latter that I felt bad and stopped my “evil” deeds. I guess, it was part of my growing up and becoming sensitive of other people’s feelings. I used to call one of my shy classmates with mean names. When I reached the 3^rd year, a transferee (who later became my bestfriend) called me “negra”. I almost knocked her off because I was bigger. Girls are vain and those with the latest cassette tapes of Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet were the coolest, and the girl with the most number of admirers or love letters was the prettiest. I received no such letters when I was in high school. I was not girly. I never liked pink stuff, skirts and fancy ribbons. So, I thought, I was ugly. When high school was about to end, I realized that there’s more to life than Aquanet, Sanrio and slumbooks.     

Illness taking over your loved one can make you closer to God and family. The first serious pain I experienced was not related to crushes or love. It involved my mother who was diagnosed with a serious illness. The fear of becoming motherless at an early age shook me up. No mother when I reach 18, on graduation, when I get married and have a child. The idea of having no mother on significant events in one’s life pained me so much. It was then that I became closer to my Creator and prayed seriously. My Ma survived her first surgery.

College is not about your course but your life after getting a degree. Going through college is a challenge for me. As a child, I dreamed of becoming an architect, then a news anchor, then a policewoman and then a lawyer. The transition from one dream to another was abrupt as I aged. My Pa used to tell me and my sister that we were not rich and that we only have one chance in college. Choose your course well because there are no second chances for both of us to shift courses or fool around. It was a legitimate threat. He taught us to choose a life after we get our degrees. I was aging well, I thought.

Third Decade:

Boyfriends are distractions when you want something better in life. A boyfriend is a necessity when friends around you start to plan their wedding. Falling in love on your late 20’s may end up in marriage. Life is full of surprises- you may end up marrying an old friend who’s only around the neighborhood your entire childhood. The best wedding gift is when both your parents are alive to give their blessings on your marriage.

I enjoyed college without having a boyfriend. I know they are distractions especially when you fall in love too much. But when you’re over 25, you start to panic and everyone will think you belong to the third sex. Hahaha! But love can wait and may come unexpected. Meeting my former classmate and friend after years of not seeing each other ended up in a marriage. I was lucky both my parents were still alive on my altar trip.

Grandparents love their grandchildren more.Your parents will contradict every parenting style you try to establish on your own. “You were like this when my grandchild is your age so, you have to do this and that…” Why do you have to do that to my apo, etc. etc. From feeding bottles to sleeping time, they’ll drive you nuts.

In-laws (no matter what degree), are a social necessity; you adjust reasonably since you are a newcomer to the pack.  Law of nature: your partner did not just appear out of nowhere. The best proof: HE HAS A BELLY BUTTON! Get it! He came from a mother and sired by a father. But relationships with in-laws need to have limitations. No meddling with finances, properties, major decisions, name of children, venue for birthdays, fashion style and of course SEX LIFE. Big No No No! Married life is between you and your partner. Nobody brought you together but yourselves-not even the in-laws. Any offense on the spouse is an offense against you.  

Do not brag about your achievements, some people may take advantage of your generosity. Sometimes, we need a little bragging to project a certain impression on others. It can also define how others will treat you. If you stay TOO HUMBLE, you may end up as a doormat and others will take you for granted. But when you brag too much, people will take advantage. Lifting yourself too much may leave you too high that you wont be able to figure out how to go down. Balance is the key.    

Parents are the repositories of wisdom, even if sometimes they can drive you crazy.They studied life for their entire lifetime and you are still in the process of living life. Sometimes, it’s worthwhile to listen to their fear of technology and how the world becomes smaller. The old form of socialization binds relationship longer and stronger. They don’t buy what they don’t need because they spent a lifetime listing what the necessities are. They don’t breed anger, because they know that life is a breeze. They were teenagers once and now they're old.

Fourth Decade:

The fourth decade is the most painful for me. It’s that time in life that you lose some of your loved ones and close relatives you’ve been with since childhood.

The fourth decade is when you become wiser that you were on your 20's.

The fourth decade is when you strengthen your bond with your better half and establish a closer and meaningful relationship with your child.

The fourth decade is when you start to gain weight and lose interest to move around.

The fourth decade is when you gradually realize what you need, whom to trust and what to dispense and add.

The fourth decade is the time when you count how many years you need to save for your retirement.

The fourth decade is when you realize that friends who stayed with you for three decades and your new true friends possess the same qualities. They come in different times but they care for you just the same.

The fourth decade is when you become comfortable with your career. You begin to understand that some bosses are grumpy sometimes, but sensitive also on certain times.

The fourth decade is when you realize that your better half also age and that your child is starting to become reasonable. And then you see yourself in him/her.

The fourth decade is the time for stocking up moisturizers, night cream and different brands of facial care products. Hahahaha!

The fourth decade is a decade of experiments in diet, dealing with weight gain and wondering whether calories do really get burned. You insist on wearing tight-fitting clothes you used to hate and regret not wearing it when you were younger. Hahaha!

The fourth decade can trigger a bad hair day, especially when a gray or white hair peeks from your temple. Oh the horror!

The fourth decade can leave a smile on your face when you hear Debbie Gibson or When in Rome on the retro-radio.

The fourth decade is when relatives you have not seen for a very long time will tell you "You still look great and haven't age a bit." Please get real!!! Don't lie!

The fourth decade is the beginning of life. Material things will not matter. What you have will be your principles and values established as you age. 

Midlife is not a crisis at all. It is actually the beginning of appreciation, acceptance and living life fully to enjoy even the small things it has to offer. You start to share strength and impart the little wisdom accruing over time.

 

Im proud of my age!



X @ 40   

Run To Lose (An Aspiring Runner's Tale)

I used to hate running or jogging. In fact, I have a post related to my dislike for running or jogging.
After my GM Diet in July and August, I have gotten myself into walking for five to 10 minutes every other day. It started in the park near my neighborhood. As the months went on, I started to love running outdoors.

First try was continuous running for 3 minutes around Quirino Grandstand in Luneta, followed by 10 to 15 minutes slow-paced walking. Then after a few days, running minutes went up to 8, then 10 and 20 minutes after a month. It was really a "Run To Lose" weight.

The transition was unexpected. Before, I prefer slouching and watching TV and housework was my work out. Now, running and walking had been part of my weekly routine. There was even a time when I feel "empty" because of daily downpour.

A few weeks ago, I joined a  5K "fun run". My goal was really just to have fun and experience competing while I can still run. I was surprised at the finish line when I ended up second. Wow!

My lifestyle and personal outlook changed in a span of 2 months. My  goal is to run uphill, which I still consider impossible to achieve.

This coming December, I booked for 4 days in Baguio City. Sto. Tomas Mountain is my climb to conquer. I am just hoping that BH will give in to my new found obsession.

If successful, I'll go to the next level of conquering Kennon Road. Hahaha! I'll need a lot of practice to get into it. Well, the event is this coming April 2013. Let's just wait and see.

image from takbo.ph

Happy running!


X

Roberto Cavalli Spring 2013

Frocks to drool over...

 

From style.com

xoxo, Y

E-Book 9: The Lovely Bones

Z lent the book two weeks ago and I finished it in 2 days.
My interest was caught when I was browsing some books on paranormal in Amazon.
Then I learned that the author Alice Sebold had a horrible experience similar to the main character in the book. This got me obsessed.

image from google

It was made into a movie in 2009 (and shown 2010 in the Philippines).

The book is about a pretty 14-year old girl named Susie Salmon who was sexually attacked and killed in 1973. The story is narrated by her from her perspective as a ghost. She frequently returns to the mundane world from her own "heaven" and watch how the lives of the people she cared for went on without her. How her family coped, her neighbors and friends remembered her and the life of her assailant. 

It was a chilling story. The author's description of each setting was so vivid-as if I can "touch and feel" the same. It was a sad world for her as a ghost, especially during those times that she was powerless to avenge her murder. 

A very nice book. Will try to look for the movie.

X  

if christian grey was a singer, songwriter & band member...

his name would be adam levine.

soft limits ---

source

hard limits --

source

ayayay!

and when i say christian grey, i mean everything beautiful and positively 50 shades so this cannot be libelous!!! i heart adam!


Z

hula hoop

... that is, by chanel!

image source

Z

"cake season"

before the christmas season, it's "cake" season for me.  my birthday, X and Y's come one after the other before christmas trees are officially set up...

last year, i was lucky to be "surprised" with quite a number of starbucks mini chocolate cakes with super yummy ganache and gold sprinkles!  (i think these were c/o Y, thanks, thanks!).  X and Y's cakes were also chocolate (?), from red ribbon i think (?!).  i am not sure if it was X who had an additional round cake --- mango crumble something from red ribbon also (?).

anyway, since it's almost cake season, i can't help but imagine some of my favorite cakes... (and worry on the fats and calories, haha! -- hide from X's calorie counter!)

estrel's caramel cake

screenshot - estrel's website: http://www.estrels.com/

devil's food cake and little devils by the chocolate kiss

photos from TKC website

mango torte by cuerva's (or dulcelin)

cuerva's famous mango torte
photo from site - http://cuervabakeshop.virtualcrow.com/

gateau de crepe by dessert du jour

photo from  Dessert Du Jour By Mara Dela Rama Facebook Page

polly's chocolate cake

image from google search

and the list goes on ---

• buttercake by vargas kitchen
• (plain) cheesecake from highlands steakhouse in tagaytay
• apple crumb pie by purple oven (revel bars yummy too!)
• sansrival by betty's - santo domingo area
• frozen braso de mercedes (otherwise known as the "sweet surrender") of  the sweet life by ange
• caramel cake by hizon's
• strawberry shortcake by mrs. yulo of forbes
• mango sansrival by Kitchen's Best Home Patisserie
• king oscar cake at ManilaPen

from the mainstream, i like --

• chocolate cake by hungry pac
• tiramisu by cibo
• ube cake by red ribbon
• mocha cake by goldilocks
• mango bravo by conti's
• choco overload cake by conti's
• chocolate cake by aristocrat
• banoffee pie by bannapple
• chocolate cake by figaro

i have yet to discover the best carrot cake, souffle, mocha cake...

i think i am going to have a wonderful cake nightmare tonight!  (i can hear X & Y asking me:  are you hungry? are you really hungry? ha,ha!)

Z

mini-me

suri cruise and katharine macphee....love them both! :)

Z

my midyear imaginary shoe rack: iWish

could girls really have enough shoes?!  ... i realize, really, that i have enough...even more than enough (and i am sooooooo thankful)....so while i battle with my poor EQ and (realistically) because i do not have the budget, i will just add a few in my imaginary shoe rack, hehe.

my statement flats....RV, iWish! and in blue, wohoo!
(last year i wanted this same RV in black and white,
2 years ago in red...by the time i save enough money
for this, i would have collected all the colors
in my imaginary rack, haha)

plus, something charcoal-greyish, something pointy and something sling-back...  ha,ha!  imaginary lang naman.  

happy to be back :) 

Z

Where We Belong (Emily Giffin)

image from google

The rainy weekend curbed any interest from BH and DS to go out malling.
Each of us had our own "little worlds"- BH on the computer and DS on the tablet. Good thing Z lent her new book "Where We Belong". I stayed in my own nook and finished the book.

I came across this book in Amazon and mentioned it to Z. She told me that she already has it but still unread. I borrowed the book and finished it over the weekend.

The story is about a 30-plus years old New York TV producer (Marian) who is romantically involved with the CEO (Peter) of the network where she works. On the night she broached the topic on marriage, the CEO ( a divorcee) was of course surprised. In short, the fun and romantic relationship turned slightly off. Marian went home to her apartment sad of course. When someone knocked on her door that evening, she was shocked to learn about the identity of a teenage girl (Kirby) with dark grey eyes- who reminded her of something from her past.

The story is told from the perspective of Kirby and Marian. It was a swift read as if one is just watching a soap opera. But I was not really satisfied on how the story ended.

Over all I will give it a 3 out of 5 (with 5 as highest).

It could be made into a movie, and perhaps star Naomi Watts as Marian and Dakota Fanning as Kirby.
They're actually the two faces I pictured as Marian and Kirby while I was reading the book.


X

oven-cooked lean beef burger

It was actually Y who convinced me to try making oven-cooked beef burger.(OC-BB)

Because I am cutting on my food consumption without sacrificing my "carnivorous" inclination, I wanted my protein to be this "OC-BB".



OC-BB


I placed the patties in a grill and cooked it for 30 minutes at 300 degrees. the 2 slices wheat bread, 1.5 romaine lettuce, 3 slices tomatoes and cucumber, topped with 1.5 tsp of mustard, 1 tsp of sandwich spread and.... Yummy! One serving is equivalent to 484 calories. I washed the meaty aftertaste with half cup of sliced navel orange and I felt great!

I just mixed 250 grams of ground lean beef, cumin, 1/2 tsp of salt, pepper, 1 minced onion,cayenne pepper and 3 cloves crushed garlic. It's so delicious minus the grease when frying!

X

My Fitness Pal

Hey X. I just installed My Fitness Pal on my IPOD. Here's my Diary for today.




xoxo, Y

Blogging from my IPOD

Test

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

MyFitnessPal

After achieving 15.4lbs weight loss through GM Diet, I vowed not to gain it back.

I have read from several websites that the healthiest weight loss is 1 to 2 lbs per week- a weight loss that is gradual. It's just so fun to eat without the packed fats as aftermath. But why should I deprive myself from eating the food that I loved? I can't starve! It isn't World War yet!

So, I did some reading and found out that you can enjoy every food you want all in moderation. Food need not be salad or tasteless veggies and everything when dieting. MODERATION is the key.

I bumped into this website and started counting the calorie intake per day. I plan my meals and stick only to the food and amount of servings as mentioned in my Food Diary (FD). On certain times of the day, I crave for a "sinful" munch. I take a very little portion and enjoy the taste. Well, for now it's working. Example was yesterday when a colleague gave me pili tarts. Of course, I need to taste at least one. So indulged. I reduced my other intakes and add the calories to my FD. 




MyFitnessPal


MyFitnessPal boasts of large food database. If you cannot find your food, you can look for something close to it.  I was surprised they have dinengdeng and papaitan. I set my goal at 1,200 calories per day since i wanted to shed off 5 kilos in 5 weeks. Well, I don't exercise thus the low calorie requirement. I do some jumping jacks for a minute and it's equivalent to 8 calories burned. I am just amazed that I don't feel weak at all.  

I started bringing my packed meals to the office instead of getting the food from the office cafeteria or eating out. So happy that I can enjoy variety from longganisa and egg to stirfried spinach and enoki mushrooms.



half cup brown rice, longganisa, one sliced tomato and boiled egg the day after my GM Diet





half cup red rice, stirfried spinach and Enoki mushrooms prepared by my loving and supportive BH

 After 6 days of using the tool, I lost another 2.2lbs. I am now 62 kilos. My goal is at least 55 to 58 kilos or 121 to 128 lbs.



as of Aug 14, 2012 PM

 I sent invites to Y and Z but I'm not sure if they tried using the tool.

Hoping to reach my goal. 

X