Where Fluff-friends FAIL Big Time

I know I am not the only one who have had problems with the forum moderators and administrators of Fluff-Friends in Facebook. Most of them are stuck up and very immature, and I'm sad that even those who are not like them gets dragged into this name calling business because the ones who are the rudest and most stuck up seem to get the most attention than those who are nice and friendly.

I started fluffing around 2007 or 2008, I can't exactly recall when, but I know its been years. I have gotten quite addicted to the game, because they offered such a marvelous place to trade items and interact with other users. Or So I thought.

The first year of fluffing was great, I had such a great time. No hassle, just meeting and greeting tons of friends, interacting, chatting, trading. TRADING! thats what got me addicted to this Facebook Game, and the Raffles that were hosted by fellow fluffers. Just amazing.

After being addicted for months, I took a short break. Just to balance my priorities, because fluffing seemed to take so much of my time. When I got back to the Forums, the air was different, the vibe, the feel, the rules all changed.

I have done a lot of adjusting, making new friends, because a lot have quit when I was on break, adjusted to new reals, and I guessed along the way I pissed off a lot of the moderators of the Fluff-Friends Forum, and pissed moderators (Violina, Cinda, who is now known as Efalent and kaitlynn) would lead to pissed Administrator -- Krystal Seidel.

I tried to put up with the vaulting of my threads and constant harassment I received from the moderators, until finally I had to take a break. A fun game was made really biased by people who were supposed to make the game experience organized and fun. I took a break around March.

I decided I will stop fluffing completely, I didn't return until late this august, where I decided to give away my 3 foxees in the form of a raffle, where the entry fee was to like my real life contest thingies. It was vaulted. Of course it was, that was because fluff items should not be raffled off for real life entry fees. Completely understandable. So I drew the raffle after less than 48 hours after opening the raffle. Which was fine by me, I wanted to give the items away anyway.

Then start of July, I got addicted to chibi arts, I remembered, there are a lot of great artists in the Fluff-friends forum, and I decided to come back.

3 days ago, I started to login to fluff friends again, I decided to hold an art challenge in the services thread, that was VAULTED after 12 hours of being posted. They said that they will not allow contests from me because I again did not abide to their rules, where they said that all raffles will be approved by them first before I should execute. So I didn't push through with the art challenge, Instead I put up an ART GALLERY thread where I requested for Siggies and Paid for them in FLUFF Gold. I paid ALL of the people who maid siggies for me in FLUFF GOLD, most of them even said that what I paid them in return for the siggies was way too generous, but I was happy to do it, because I loved their work.

Then tonight... Tonight, after just 3 days of returning to the forums, where after 3 days already 3 of my threads were vaulted. the ART GALLERY thread was again vaulted.

The message from the ADMINISTRATOR - KRYSTAL SEIDEL:

"If you want users to draw you a signature and you pay each artist, this needs to be a service.

If you want users to draw you a signature and you only pay one artist (the best) which you choose, this needs to be a contest.

We have a directory of artists already sticked in this forum.
If you'd like a gallery of your own pictures, please use any of the free photo hosting services on the internet (photobucket, flickr) or your own Facebook profile where you have the ability to share albums to your friends or to anyone, while keeping your own profile private.

You've already been informed several times by the Moderation Team of the rules of this forum. Please send a private message to any moderator before starting another thread of this nature because you seem to keep missing what they are telling you."

So then I messaged the moderators telling them that I have PAID for all the artists work and that will continue to pay for what I ordered.

Since the thread that I had - THE ART GALLERY was vaulted, I decided to keep track of the Siggy orders I have, by making a new thread, just to place the current and pending siggies being done for me.

and ALAS, after a few minutes, my account was logged off from the fluff-friends forums and when I tried to log in, it said that my account was suspended for 2 weeks.

So what was I suspended for?

I was suspended for loving art, for making a thread that requested for artists to make me an art that I have paid and have continued and will continue to pay for in Fluff Gold.

I do not see nor understand my offense. Except that the moderators hated me, and tried to find ways and means to get me out of the fluff-friends forum, or even maybe they have been trying to find ways to ban me from the game.

I am not going to hand it to them in a silver platter, I have been very tolerant of their indecent behavior, and they have been more than unfair in treating me and other people that I know.

I am speaking now, because I KNOW I have done no offense, and should not be treated the way the Fluff-friends moderators, and administrators have been treating me.

I've put up with their unfair treatment since they all began their reign in the forums, but now I can not take it anymore. It has gone far enough, and its time the developers and all the people around knows that they have FAILED.

Showbiz Moments

Today started like a regular day, I woke from a deep sleep on my bed with my daughter by my side. Little did I know that today was going to be everything but ordinary.

This day started 2 days ago, LOL, I know its weird to imagine how a specific day would start 2 days ago, so let me explain.

I bought my copy of Good Housekeeping August issue around the first week of August. I read it like I usually do, and re-read the articles that I liked. I came across their Mommy Make Over article in the magazine and thought to myself, "I wish I can be part of something like this". Then I decided to take my fate into my own hands and without hesitation sent an E-mail to Good Housekeeping on August 5, 2010:

After hitting send, I forgot all about the E-mail. I just wanted to let them know that I am really interested to become one of their subjects, but never really expected them to respond since there was no advertisement from them calling for make over mom applicants.

So I went on with my life, until one day, after spending an afternoon with my daughter last August 10. I checked my emails and saw a number of emails in my inbox, read them, replied and then went to my junk mail. To my surprise I notice an email in the junk mail that is not junk at all, it came from Marika Bernardo of Summit Media, entitled: Mommy Make Over. I was expecting the email to say that they received my email and will let me know when they will be needing a mommy model, but I was shocked to receive the greatest news:

I immediately replied giving all the information that she needed, and it was set. I will be part of something that I have been dreaming of all my life, a TV Show - modeling myself.

Then August 12th came and I was ready for the experience, I wasn't expecting the day to be extra ordinary. I thought I will just be videotaped while I am being made over, and I was not prepared for what was ahead of me.

Me and Maika of Summit Media

I arrived Summit Media's office in Pioneer at 5 past 2 and met with Maika, we then immediately went on our way to the GMA 7 Studios where I will be meeting with the fabulous Isha Andaya of Stylebible.ph.

Me and Isha of Stylebible.ph

Maika and I arrived the studio at around 3 PM and Christine and Suzie have not yet finished the first episode they were taping. Isha and I got to know each other better on the Restrooms of the dressing rooms where I fitted the clothes that she brought for me to try, for the make over segment of the Full Time Moms' show. We asked each other questions about each other, and became more and more comfortable with each others company.

After fitting we watched the show that is being taped, and I was called to be "powdered" for the before photograph of the before and after photos. Once the taping of the first episode was done and the hosts and the crew went on a break, the photographer asked me to step into the set for the before photograph, and I found it so hard to smile, my face was quivering and stiff, I hate being photographed by people I don't know, LOL.

After the photograph was taken, I sat back down on the table with Maika and Isha and we talked about ourselves, asked each other questions, and thats when Maika told me that I will have to speak on the show, and I was shocked. I never expected that I will have talking points on this show, I was only expecting a make over. So I looked at the two parts of the show where I needed to speak and just summoned all the courage I have and psyched myself, I can do this, I can do this, I can do this, then Maika pointed me to the part of the script where it said, the reveal, which meant the reveal of the newly made over me, and I will be escorted by a handsome young man named Daniel Matsunaga, I didn't know who he was. Then we went back to just talking to each other and watching everyone around us. And then Daniel arrived, and I was shocked, he was handsome, and he caused giggles to come out from Maika and myself as we talked about him, we were star-strucked, truly a crush worthy man.

A picture that I took of Heart and Daniel of Langit Sa Piling Mo

The first scene of the show was being taped now and I prepared myself for whats to come. I will be sitting in front of a camera beside Tessa Prieto and Isha Andaya and will be interviewed by Suzie Entrata, then before I could blink, its my time to go on stage.

From Left to Right: Suzie, Tessa, Myself, Isha

I was asked a few questions, interacted a little bit with Suzie, Tessa and Isha and then the segment was over. The funny thing about this situation was I thought I was going to be a nervous wreck, I thought I would be trembling when I hold the microphone, I thought I will be stuttering when I spoke, but none of those happened, I was at ease, I was comfortable, and I was having fun, I felt like everything that was happening was just natural. Maybe it was the great company that I have (Maika and Isha) that made me feel comfortable, but I felt right at home.

So after the short segment, I went back to sit on our usual table and we talked a bit more about ourselves and watched the show, then I was asked to change to the white dress that Isha brought, I was accessorized and then it was time for hair and Make-Up. It was the best hair and Make-Up experience I ever had, I felt comfortable with the Make-Up artist Jay Borado, I even did not experience discomfort when he was applying eye liner on my lower lids, which used to be the biggest issue for me, for those who know me well knows that there was never a time that another person applied an eye liner on my lower lid with a pencil liner where I have not fainted, but Jay was able to successfully complete my look with no problems. And I loved the way I looked, I even said that my make up looked more gorgeous than my make up during my wedding, because Jay made it plain and simple but in a glamorous way. My hair was not ironed, but was just brushed and then the 4 inches of my hair was curled to give a seductive and luscious effect, I thought the curl gave my hair body and glamour, I looked PERFECT!

Then I received what should be the most terrifying news of my life. Once the tape starts rolling again, I will be "revealed" with Daniel and I will have to do a catwalk on the edge of the stage with Daniel, then walk back towards the sofa and stay standing while they talk about me and Miss Tessa will add more glamorous accessories to turn my day dress into a night outfit. I said it should be the most terrifying because when I heard the director say it, I thought it should be scary, but again I didn't feel my nerves, all I felt was excitement, pride and confidence.

When it was time to roll the tape, Daniel and I stayed on the left side of the set where the closed door that will serve as entrance is, and stayed there and chat a bit while we waited for me to be summoned. Then it was time, I walked out the door with Daniel, did my catwalk and was re-accessorized by Tessa. What I wasn't expecting was after I was reaccessorized I was asked to do another catwalk, which I did, at the end of the stage Daniel twirled me once and went back to where the hosts, Tessa and Isha were seated and talked about the transformation for a few minutes. Then it was done.

This is definitely an experience I will never ever forget. All my life I have wanted to become a print model, I dreamt of being a singer, I wanted to be part of a tv show, and today it all became real, not only was I part of a show, I was asked to speak while I was me, I was transformed, I modeled and I met great people. It was all because Good Housekeeping made all these possible, and I am so grateful that Good Housekeeping has made this happen for me, not only do they provide a monthly source of knowledge, tips and guide, they also make dreams happen.

(Photo courtesy of Marika Bernardo of Summit Media)

And to the glamorous and praise-worthy Miss Tessa Prieto Thank you so much for the accessories that you have given me, my daughter especially loved the small hat, and can't wait to use it with her black leotard and tutu.

To Maika and Isha, Thank you so much for a fabulous day, I had so much fun experiencing this surreal dream and getting to know two lovely, kind and friendly ladies. I hope we can all keep in touch.

And to Full Time Moms, QTV 11, GMA 7, thank you so so much for this dream experience. I hope this is not the last, but I am happy being able to experience this wonderful highlight of my life, another milestone accomplished.

The Love of My Life

Nicole and Mommy Togather

A close up of my beautiful Princess

A Close Up of my fat face =)

Nike and Pigge

This is my first ever attempt at drawing an art from SCRATCH using only my computer, no hand sketch.

The Subject is my daughter and her currently favorite character a piggie.

If you guys like it, I will continue trying to make more arts of Nike and Pigge.

Please tell me what you think?

So Soya

I am a Soya Milk addict, just like eating taho drinking soya milk is one of my most favorite activities. When I was visiting Noel in Singapore I had my OVERDOSE of Soya Milk because they just had abundant supply of Soya Milk in their groceries, you can choose different brands with different range of flavors, there are non fat soya milk and 100% soya milk they even had chocolate flavored ones, and I so envy my husband for having Soya Milk at 1 liter cartons at his disposal.

When I came back home from Singapore, I missed my daily Soya Milk supply, because Filipinos seem to not favor the Soya Milk products as much as Singaporeans do. We can barely find any store that sells Soya Milk even at 250 ml containers. I often find some in mini stop and thats about it. But today must be my lucky day. I went to Pure Gold Jr. to buy some supplies for my daughter - her favorite Lemon Square Cheese Cup Cakes, her favorite Chocolate cupcake, some chewy candies and the strawberry flavored Potchi. I also bought her Nido 3+ milk and some food for the house - bread, hot dogs, vinegar and soy sauce. And as I was browsing through every isle of pure gold jr. and was contemplating on buying nike cartons of Bear Brand Strawberry Milk drink and Chocolait I saw it, they finally have a plain unflavored 1 Liter carton of Soya Milk and I almost jumped from delight. I immediately grabbed 3 cartons, which I hope would last atleast a week, but knowing my love for Soya Milk, it would probably only last a maximum of 3 days.

I chilled 1 carton of Soya Milk as soon as arrived home and watched some of my newly discovered TV Series. And after a few hours remembered I had it and was excited to try. I poured myself a glass of the Soya Milk and was ready for my first gulp.

Heaven! I just love the natural flavor of the soya milk, just like taho only its not chunky, it has a smooth texture that fits well with its light flavor. It definitely met my expectations. I am so happy to finally have a Soya Milk in the market and would definitely be buying more of this delicious and healthy goodness in a box.

Now that I have shared this wonderful new discovery (atleast in the Philippine Market) let me share a few important words that I got from Wikipedia regarding Soya Milk.

Soy milk has about the same amount of protein (though not the same amino acid profile) as cow’s milk. Natural soy milk contains little digestible calcium as it is bound to the bean’s pulp, which is insoluble in humans. To counter this, many manufacturers enrich their products with calcium carbonate available to human digestion. Unlike cow’s milk, it has little saturated fat and no cholesterol. Soy products contain sucrose as the basic disaccharide, which breaks down into glucose and fructose. Since soy doesn’t contain galactose, a product of lactose breakdown, soy-based infant formulas can safely replace breast milk in children with galactosemia.

Soy milk is promoted as a healthy alternative to cow’s milk for reasons including:

• Source of lecithin and vitamin E

• Lacks casein

• It is safe for people with lactose intolerance or milk allergy

• Contains far less saturated fat than cow’s milk.

• Contains isoflavones, organic chemicals that may possibly be beneficial to health.

Read more about Soya Milk in HERE.

And if you are excited about Soya Milk as much as I am, right now I can only recommend going to Pure Gold Jr. to look for the product, I am not sure if they have it in SM Groceries or others but its definitely worth taking a look. Also this brand Soyfresh offers them in a whole range of flavors that you may want to try.

Delicious Bangus

Lately I have discovered two delicious bangus (milkfish) dishes that I have fallen in love with, both are boneless and cooked so much differently from one another, even my daughter loves them both.

my dad introduced me to the deliciously char grilled bangus of Pixie’s sinugba. (I will upload my own pictures the next time I buy one) the cost more or less PHP 190 Pesos for one whole grilled bangus that is perfectly deboned and grilled with tomatoes and onions.

Photo Taken From: ClickTheCity

When you order the Inihaw na Bangus make sure to order the one without the “kaliskis” or Scales so that you will able to eat the dish without problems. And make sure to order the freshly grilled one, if you have to wait, wait, because the freshly cooked ones are the most delicious ones, besides if you order one that has been sitting in the store for a bit, it might not taste as good as it should. Enjoy this whole Bangus with a soysauce with calamansi (small citrus fruit) or patis (fish sauce) with calamsi, and you sure will eat a ton.

The next Bangus dish that I have recently started falling in love with is the Century Bangus Tocino which was introduced to me by my cousin who posted pictures of her daughter enjoying a hefty meal with rice and tomatoes with the fish tocino.

Photo taken from: STYLEBIBLE.PH

I have been so intrigued at how this fish will taste like after it has been made into a tocino. We are all very familiar with Pampanga’s Best’s Pork and Chicken Tocino that we have grown to love over the years, but a fish that is made into a tocino is a new concept. So I tried it and lo and behold loved it.

My daughter also loved the fish most especially with a bowl of sliced tomatoes to go with it, and it wasn’t fishy tasting at all, it tasted like any regular tocino and it was really good. It was not too sweet and it was well balanced in flavor in every way and tastes like what tocino should taste like. Although not all groceries around the metro has this in their freezer, you will have to go to bigger groceries like SM Hypermarket or Pioneer Center or other bigger groceries, because I tried puregold and they don’t carry the product - at around PHP 110 Pesos for 1 pack of 1 Kg Bangus Tocino it is definitely worth the effort.

Pick Up and Deliver

I was taking a bath when I remembered there are Gift Certificates that I need to claim from Working Mom Magazine - which is located at Quezon City, A territory that I am not very much familiar with. Then I thought to myself, wouldn’t it be so much easier if I can have a person Pick it up for me and deliver it to my doorstep?

Then I started wondering that I should put up a small business that will do just that. Start small like around the Metro Manila Area and then expand to National coverage and eventually International. It will be just like our common courier service like XEND, AIR21, 2GO, DHL, JRS EXPRESS, but the difference will be that my service will specialize in Picking-Up items for customers and delivering it back to them.

Then I plotted the business process. There would be like a website where you can Process the Request, there will be a form having the following Fields:

Full Name:
Customer Address:
E-mail Address:
Contact Number:
Pick-Up Person:
Pick-Up Address:
Mode of Payment: (Bank Deposit, Paypal, Credit Card, Etc.)
Mode of Service: (Same Day or Regular)
Special Requirements: (Upload Files Here)
Other Comments:

So breaking down the Form:

• Full Name, Email Address and Contact Number is pretty self explanatory.

• Customer Address is where the package will be delivered once it has been picked up from wherever the package will be originating.

• Pick-Up Person will be the person the messenger / courier will be looking for when he arrives at the address where the package will be originating.

• Pick-Up Address will be the location where the package is.

• Mode of Payment needs to be done online since there needs to be a guarantee that it is an actual transaction and since the customer will be the last person the courier will be meeting with.

• Mode of Service will be Same Day Pick-Up and Delivery where the package will be picked up from the originating address and delivered to the Customer Address on the same day, this will mean extra charge, or Regular which can take 1-2 days for Metro Manila Pick Ups and Deliveries and 2-5 days for National and maybe longer for International Pick Ups and Deliveries.

• Special Requirements Field is a place where the UPLOAD button will be placed, where the Customer can Upload Scanned Authorization Letters and Photocopy of ID’s with a note indicating what the ID should be used for, and other materials needed for the courier to be able to claim or pick up the package.

• Other Comments field will be a place to add special requests that are not covered in the form.

Once the form is submitted, there will be a variety of actions, if the Mode of Payment states:

• Credit Card, then it will be redirected to the Credit Card Payment Page.

• PayPal then it will be redirected to a PayPal Secure Payment Page.

• Bank Deposit A confirmation Email will be sent to the Email address of the Customer, there will be where the invoice will be which will have the total amount that needs to be paid via the banks that can be used to deposit the payment and a link will be shown that the customer can click and redirected to a webpage where the customer can upload a copy of the confirmation slip once the payment is done.

And regardless of the mode of payment once the transaction is completed - meaning paid for, they will receive an email confirmation of their tracking number so that the customer will know the progress of the Pick Up and Deliver Service.

Isn’t my idea very detailed and nice and convenient? If only I can make this Idea a reality then picking up packages and prizes would be so much easier for everyone! :)

Photo Taken from: NWCPRINT

The Chillax Kind

Photo taken from Deviantart by: suzinxlyn

Some time last week, my good and old friend Gretchell (when I say old, I don’t mean aged, I meant we go way back) and I were discussing about friendships, bestfriends and friend relationship altogether. This topic was brought about by her asking my why I wrote my other article Goodbye My Friend. So I told her about this one friend that I had for 20 years and suddenly realized I lost just this year. I told her all the story behind it, all the reasons why the friendship ended and talked more about the person behind the story. Then she told me she had a friend whom I actually know that is somewhat like the person I was talking about, so she told me stories about her friend and how disappointing the situation seems at times. And we went on and on telling each other stories about friendships and relationships.

Then during the whole conversation the words “Chillax Friendship” appeared. This is how we described our friendship. We are not the closest friends, we are not the type who tell each other every detail of our lives and our days, we are not the type of friends who tell each other our deepest darkest secrets on a regular basis, but we are close, in a way that as distant friends can be. We know about each others lives, we know some of each others secrets, we chat with each other WHEN we feel like chatting, we rant to each other about the misfortunes of life and we chat about any random things that we can think about, but unlike other types of friendships which needs constant rekindling and communication, we never felt the need to constantly nudge each other, or buzz each other. We may see the other online and not say Hi and we know that we are still friends. This is the type of friendship that has no expectations and no disappointments, A chilled and relaxed type of friendship.

I am happy to say that this is probably the best type of friendship there is, knowing that when you need that person he or she can be there to listen, but you know that you don’t need to constantly take care of the friendship. You know that the friendship is and will always be there, no matter how long you have last spoken and no matter where you guys left off.

Most of my friendships are somewhat like this, My Best Friend Kate and I do not need to constantly be together, we often talk when there is need to talk, although we make it a point to see each other once in a while, so I could say Kate is My Best Semi-Chillax Friend. And if you are going to ask me right now whom I consider is the epitome of my Chillax Friendship, I’d tell you without hesitation its Gretchell.

So heres to all the Chillax Friendships out there, may we all continue having more and more great Chillax Friends! :)

Korean Beef Stew

I Promised myself last week that this week I will cook Korean beef Stew and Today I did. It took me three hours to stew the beef to become soft and tender but I am loving it!

Ingredients to make a pot of Korean Beef Stew:

Beef
1 Cup Soy Sauce / kikkoman
3/4 Cups Sugar
1 Whole Bell Pepper
1 Whole Onion
1 Whole Garlic
1 Chunk of Ginger - Skinned
1 Bay Leaf
Leeks
Sesame Seeds 

Start Boiling the beef in low heat into a pot filled with water, once its boiling (make sure to scoop out the blood that is formed during the cooking process) add the soy sauce and sugar and allow to boil. Once the mixture is boiling add the whole bell pepper, onion, garlic, ginger and bay leaf, and let the mixture boil until the stew is ready.

The Sesame seeds and chopped leeks will be added as garnish and color to the dish once its cooked. Make sure to fry the sesame seeds until its golden brown, and the leeks should be washed and chopped in fine pieces

The sesame seed does not just make the dish look pretty it also add it own unique flavor to the dish, so I think it is really important to have the sesame seeds when cooking a pot of Korean beef stew. Same goes for the leek. :)

Now that I shared my delicious dinner, Bon Apetit!

Hawks Eye

Being a mother, I realized a lot of different stages in raising my daughter. Today I realized something really good and relevant.

I remember when she was younger, every time we leave home to spend a day at a playground or at a place that Nike can mingle with other kids, I would usually tail her like a dog. Guiding her every step and making sure that no harm comes her way, thats what parents does, most especially mothers. We would like to make sure that our children are safe no matter where she goes, what she does and whom she plays with. We often feel defensive when our children get hurt or want to yell at those other kids who pushes our own, whether we admit it or not, this happens, we just often take control of our emotions and approach other children with caution and respect to their parents.

Today I realized that even though I tend to keep a watchful eye at Nike, I now have the peace of mind to leave her at the play area of McDonalds for a short while, while ordering food for us, this is something I never would have done when she was still a lot younger. Although while in line at the cashier I tend to look over my shoulder every minute to make sure that she is still there and that no one is giving her a hard time.

Then today, I sat to a table that’s a bit far from the play area, also something that I don’t usually do. I usually sit at the table nearest the slides so that I can make sure that no one can take her or push her or just so that she can see me every minute that she is playing. But I also realized that even though I tried to give her the chance to play on her own and be independent, as a mom, I cannot resist looking over wherever she is to make sure she is safe. I call out her name when it takes some time for me to have a glimpse of her. And even though I can see her from a distance and I was busy reading a magazine, I feel myself glancing towards the play area every few minutes to make sure she’s Ok. I felt like I was a hawk on a hunt for predators.

Maybe eventually I will learn to trust my daughters instinct and be more comfortable letting her play without my guidance or overseeing, but until that day I am here to make sure that no one can harm her. And maybe even when she turns 18 or even 30 I will still be continuing to look up and look for her just to make sure that everything is Okay.

She will always be my baby girl and nothing in the world can change that, it doesn’t matter how many birthdays come and go. I will always be her mother, a mother that wants only the best for her child.

Quick Fix: Healthy Dinner

Repolyo Guisado - Sauteed Cabbage

Ingredients:
A clove of Garlic - Skinned and finely chopped
2 Small Red Onions - Skinned and finely chopped
1 cabbage - Chopped into smaller pieces
3 Tomatoes - diced
1/8 kilo of ground pork
1 cup pork buillion / 1 know pork cube 

Fry the garlic, onion and tomato on a hot pan with cooking oil. Once the mix is cooked add the ground pork and continue frying until the pork is cooked. Add the 1 cup pork buillion and let boil. Once boiling add the cut cabbage and continue cooking in low heat until the cabbage is cooked to your liking. Serve.

This is an easy to do, budget friendly, healthy meal that can be served at dinner or lunch, I love the “guisado” taste and like I said its healthy both for me and my daughter.

Muchas Gracias Mary Grace

Yesterday my college friends and I decided to meet for a movie date. I met becky at around 1 PM at Red Ribbon near their house, then went on our way to Alabang Town Center. We got our Salt Tickets for the screening at 3:15 PM and decided to eat something while waiting for our other friend (Cess) to arrive. Becky said, do you like cakes? Of course I liked cakes LOL :) who doesn’t right? She said she can’t wait to show me a slice of heaven.

We walked from the Movie Ticket Concierge to the front of the Alabang Town Center. I asked her if we were eating the slice of heaven in starbucks, she said no. As we were around the starbucks area, instead of going right to starbucks we turned left and entered a wonderfully decorated and charming restaurant called Mary Grace.

We were seated at a cozy table just beside the side window and browsed the Menu, Becky already knew what she wanted to make me try, so I said we should order something else like a pasta or a sandwich just to have variety on our pallets. Then I decided on ordering the Seafood Pasta (PHP 244 per plate) - A medley of fresh clams, shrimp, squid, mussels, and cream dory which lend their flavors to a tomato based sauce which is enhanced by herbs, olives. and mushrooms. Sounds delectable right? It truly is, I only forgot to take a picture of the wonderful dish, because I got excited to eat it as soon as the plate was set on our table. The pasta is really good and the noodles is really very well prepared, my only problem with the dish is that I hoped there would be two pieces of shrimp. I guess they weren’t telling alie when they said in the description - A medley of clams, SHRIMP, SQUID, mussels, etc. It really only had one shrimp and 1 slice of squid. But the dish is really good, Becky and I were able to finish the whole dish.

After eating the plateful of pasta, Becky and I dove in to her slice of heaven that is called Chocolate Truffle Cake (PHP 194 per slice). When it was first set on the table I thought it looked like any ordinary cake. I tried a piece and it was really heaven. The Cake was served to us initially before the pasta arrived, which made a bit of sense because cake takes a shorter amount of time to slice than to prepare the whole pasta dish. We set it aside for a while to eat the pasta, so the cake was sitting on our table for a bit before we finally devoured it. But to my surprise at first bite of the cake, the slice always seemed cool on my mouth, and every bite you take will make you appreciate the goodness of the cake because it melts in your mouth. The cake is very moist and very balanced in a way that the chocolate flavor doesn’t over power the truffles and the truffles doesn’t over power the chocolate, and the sweetness of the cake is just right - not too sweet not too bland.

This is a real treat for me, being able to spend a fabulous day with my college friends, and experiencing a new and exciting restaurant that I would surely love to visit again.

Photo taken from Mary Grace Cafe Facebook Fan Page

It Gets Easier

As the days roll into weeks and the weeks roll into months, I realize one thing - the distance between my husband and myself gets easier to deal with. When I think about him, when I miss him, I no longer cry like I used to. When I remember things that we used to do, it doesn’t make me want to just sit in corner and mope, instead I learned how to appreciate the things we used to do and smile when I remember. Yes there are moments that I feel hollow and empty inside and there are moments that I feel like I want to hold his hands, touch his face or play with his hair, but those moments pass as easy as they come.

Tonight, I thought about my husband and I missed him, and I felt sad, not because I missed him, but because I no longer had the urge to cry. I felt weird not being able to cry, I no longer had the suffocating ache in my heart when I think about him, I just miss him. It’s not that I want to keep crying every time I think about him, nor do I want the pain to remain in my heart. It’s just that when I do not feel the pain, I feel like my heart has gotten tougher in a way that I don’t want it to be. I do not want to get used to not having him around. I do not want to stop yearning for him, to touch him, to hold him, to kiss him. I do not want to stop wanting to be with him. And everyday that we are not together gets me used to not having him around, and I don’t want to get used to not having him around.

And it’s true, people will tell you, it will get easier, it will get better. The Time will come when you will no longer feel as sad as you feel during the first few weeks after he leaves. It’s true, all these things that they say will happen, but do you really want it to? Do you really want to teach you heart to get used to being apart? I don’t.

I want to keep missing him, I want to keep yearning for him. I want to continue to feel with my heart. I want to feel sad when I think about him, not because I want to be “emo” but because I don’t want to toughen my heart from this emotions, I want to miss him everyday because I want to be excited every moment I get the chance to be with him.

I remember when he was still in the Philippines with me. He would go to work every week day and I will be left at home. And every day during the times that he is due to arrive home, I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from looking at the clock every minute, anticipating his arrival. I did this everyday for the whole 3 years that we lived together. I would get excited when I hear the jingle of his keys, every time I hear his heavy footsteps, I would smile at myself as soon as I hear the back door open. I missed him everyday when he went to work, and get excited everyday for him to come home to me. I don’t want that feeling to stop. I want to keep waiting for him, I want to keep getting excited.

Yes, after a while it gets easier to cope with the sadness. It gets easier to deal with the pain of being left behind. But I really don’t want it to get easier. Because when it gets easier, it also gets easier to forget.

The Window to My Soul

The Window to My Soul.

Fightful Dream

Why is it that when I dream about my husband, I always dream about him and me fighting. Out of all the dreams I had of him, when he was still living with me and now that he isn’t, I always dream of him and me fighting over something, its very rare for me to dream about him and me happy, it only happened twice or thrice in the whole 5 years that we have been together / known each other.

It usually was about him being or flirting with other girls. But its irritating that every time I get the chance to be with him, even just in my dreams, we are never intimate or just happy. But tonight my dream is especially irritating because I dreamt that he already came home for vacation from Singapore. It started out great, no girls, I dreamt about him, Nike and myself. But all of a sudden everything turned sour. He got mad at me for being a Bad Mother and a Bad wife because I wasn’t spending time with him and our daughter. While most of the time in that dream I have been running around looking for them. I can never seem to catch them. And the only time I was able to catch up with them was when he was already very upset and want nothing to do with me.

Why is it that I always end up crying or hurt when I dream about my husband? Is it my fear of losing him? Or is it because our relationship is so perfect that my brain is creating these stories just to spice things up, not that our marriage is not spicy because it definitely is. What is it with Noel in my dreams?

My Little Princess' dream

A Princess Tutu and a Princess Crown

Crown Close Up

Nike-Kay

You know you’re child is kikay when you take her to a store full of toys and what nots and all she ever wants to buy are these two things.

Today I brought my daughter to SM Department Store showed her toys and things and when she saw this ensemble, she would not let it go. She even insisted that she will be the one to pay for it on the cashier (using my money ofcourse). She wouldn’t let me hold it while we were inside the department store, maybe she was scared that I’d put it back. LOL.

Who's Joey Pepperoni?

Image from: Joey Pepperoni Facebook Fan Page

Today I spent the day with my daughter. We went to SM Southmall just so Nike could enjoy a full day of fun, rides and slides. I initially took her to SM Storyland, and contemplated on just buying her two tickets for two rides for PHP 80 or buying her a ride all you can ticket for PHP 250. You can guess what I chose, ofcourse I wanted my daughter to enjoy the day so I bought her the unlimited pass. When she got tired of riding the rides at Storyland I took her to Kids Village (a play and slide place) at the 3rd level of SM Southmall its like a small play gym with a wooden children’s play house a wooden slide and ball pool and a few toys and rockers. I also bought her the unlimited pass that she used to spend 2 hours full of sliding and playing, she even got bullied by a little boy who kicked her back, and threw toys at her, but Nike remained calm and composed, she just ignored the mean boy, she didn’t cry and she just continued playing.

So after a tiresome afternoon both Nike and I were HUNGRY and thirsty. While walking I saw this advertisement of Joey Pepperoni indicating that they had these 99 peso meal with drinks and a buy 1 take 1 pizza for 250 pesos so I got intrigued and the picture looked really yummy. So Nike and I made our way to Joey Pepperoni.

Nike pointed to the first thing that she saw that has rice, The Chicken Strips with Rice and it looked yummy enough so I ordered it and I ordered an 8-inch The works Pizza - It is called the works because it had mushrooms, pepporoni, olives, bacon and all the works. We were asked to wait for 20 minutes for our order, probably because thats how long it usually takes them to cook a meal to order so I agreed, I told them it was okay.

After the 20 minutes was up, we received our orders, and wow, was I disappointed. Not only was the Chicken Strips Dry-Looking it was overcooked, dry and it was not presented well. I forgot to take a picture of the food after it was delivered to us, because Nike was already hungry. But it was an ultimate disappointment. Even the rice was dry, it felt like it was heated from the microwave, it had an unnatural hotness to it. To top off the disappointing look of the dish, the garlic that was meant to be part of the chicken strips was BURNT, it wasn’t the crunchy golden brown garlic that you would expect from a restaurant. It was really burnt, giving the dish a burnt taste to it.

Image of the burnt garlic

Thats what I can say about their 99-Peso Chicken Strips with Rice meal. I do not recommend it at all. But the pizza was okay, it wasn’t the best pizza I have tasted but when you’re hungry it would be a good enough pizza to eat. It tasted normal and it was not burnt. Of course I wasn’t able to take a picture of the whole thing when it was delivered because I was really hungry, but I was able to take a picture of a slice.

The whole pizza was good enough to finish, although it wasn’t something that I would go out of my way of to buy.

We were able to quench our thirst and hunger, but it was not an experience that we are happy about, I probably would not be eating in Joey’s Pepperoni again soon, but I will definitely try them again, someday - because I remember I already ate there before probably around 2 years ago, and the experience was not as bad as this one, but their food is just average tasting. 

14 Day Commitment Challenge: Mystery Shampoo

Today I received the package from the I Commit To Change Team and it consisted of 2 Mystery Shampoos and 2 Mystery Conditioners. I have accepted their 14 Day Challenge to use the Mystery Shampoo and see and feel the transformation of my hair.

I promised myself that to be able to truly see the result of this challenge, I will not tie my hair, so that it would show how much change my hair will actually have. Because when you tie your hair it causes friction that damages the hair strands and then the result of the challenge will be tampered. So for 14 Days I will not tie my hair to see if the Mystery Shampoo and Conditioner will really give me a better crown.

My hair before the challenge is frizzy, it is straight (because of Rebonding) but around the top of my head, there usually are a lot of small unmanageable hair that sticks to the left, right and everywhere. It has gotten a bit dry, because I have not been back to the Salon for almost 8 months now, and the last treatment I got was Rebonding, no hot oil or hair spa whatsoever. So this will really test the Mystery Shampoos powers.

The Questions that are coming to my mind right now are:

1. Will the shampoo make my hair silkier and smoother (no longer dry)?
2. Will it stop the Frizziness?
3. Will it tame the hair on top of my head?
4. Will it affect the previous rebond treatment that was done to my hair?

I will be keeping a daily journal, Video, Photo or just a write up of my 14 day commitment so I could keep track of the progress of my hair.

Day 1: (July 28, 2010)

The Shampoo smelled a little bit like a shampoo that I have been using for a long time, but I cannot quite put my finger on what it was. It gave a fruity aroma that is just relaxing and not intoxicating. It was rich in texture and you will only need a small amount to wash your hair with.

The Conditioner smelled a bit like a normal conditioner, sort of a generic smell which disappointed me a bit, I was expecting the same fruity aroma, but it wasn’t there. The texture of the Conditioner though was very fulfilling, it was very rich and creamy.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/v/QoxLaQWfkIo]

Sorry for the mess in the background, I just wanted to get the video over with. So like I said. After using the Shampoo and the Conditioner in day 1, I expected not to see a lot of difference in my hair. Usually after bath, I would take a bit of time brushing my hair, because it gets a bit tangled, but using the Mystery Shampoo and Conditioner made it easier to comb and to brush. The smell of the Shampoo after washing stayed on my hair giving my hair a fruity aroma.

That’s as far as I can mention about Day 1.

Day 2: July 29, 2010

I used the Mystery Shampoo and Conditioner today - 2nd Day! after bath I brushed my hair with a fine hairbrush and it was very easy to brush yet again. The real test for my hair today was how it could remain light and straight the whole day, it was a very humid day and usually when I use my old shampoo my hair become sticky and frizzy, but today my hair seemed fresh through out the day.

A Picture of me and my hair after a long day of humidity, playing and sweating

Day 3: July 30, 2010

I haven’t been able to pay so much attention to my hair today because of the busy schedule. I had to attend a free pictorial today that I wasn’t able to examine my hair.

Day 4: July 31, 2010

Today while taking a bath, I realized that when I shampooed my hair with the mystery shampoo there seems to be less falling hair, usually when I shampoo my hair seems to break and fall, and I could grab a handful (around 20-30 pcs) of hair during bath, but today it seemed less, I noticed only around 4-6 pcs of hair which is really amazing for me. And while taking a bath, I noticed that when I wet my hair it wasn’t all tangled even though I haven’t brushed my hair before taking a bath. And I also received a compliment for my hair when my friend asked me if I had it recently rebonded. I guess the changes are slowly showing! :)

Me and my healthier hair

Day 8: August 4, 2010

I haven’t been able to update the last three days due to a hectic schedule, but I made sure to stick to my commitment in using the Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner on a daily basis. And the last three days I really have been noticing a lot of difference in my hair. I noticed during bath that my hair fall has really decreased to 90%, I often get scared of my hair falling off one day because I often get a lot of falling hair while taking a bath, but since I started using Pantene, the hair fall has really decreased to a noticeable amount. Also, after my hair dries its not frizzy anymore, usually the top of my head is filled with short hair that sticks all over the place, but now it is tamed and my hair seemed softer and more manageable. I am really loving the difference I am experiencing.

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Remembering Vanilla Suites

I remember around December 2007 (almost 3 years ago) Noel and I decided to take our 1 year old daughter (who is now 3.5 years old) to our first ever family vacation. We were supposed to go to a different hotel but ended up not wanting to drive so far away from the restaurants that we decided to scout for a different hotel that would be pretty and relaxing enough and will be just a few minutes away from the restaurants.

We left the house really early because we wanted to enjoy the day in Tagaytay, we ended up scouting for a place to stay for and hour or so, we found good enough places that almost tickled our fancy but when we saw Vanilla Suites - we fell in love. It was so gorgeously serene and green and peaceful that we just had to stay there.


The People who attended to us were very friendly and followed our every whim. Well, we were very easy people to please, they gave us complimentary drinks while we were waiting for the room that we were going to stay in. The picture above is the view from the second floor of their very homey and comfortable restaurant.



And this picture is the view of the ground floor area that is overlooking a vast green land and Taal, where small intimate gatherings could be hosted.

After just a short wait, our room was ready for us, and when we stepped in it was immaculately clean and beautiful, the king sized bed was big enough for my husband, my daughter and myself to sleep comfortably in. The Bathroom was big and glorious and spotless, with hot and cold shower and the toilet was sparkling clean and brand new. And the view outside the window was spectacular. There also is a television, dvd player, airconditioning and a small coffee table that you can use if you wish to order room service.




And just outside our bedroom / cottage, there is a staircase going down a huge space with a great view where my daughter, my husband and I spent the afternoons just playing around, and taking in the beauty of Tagaytay.



The Breakfast they serve is really sumptuous as well. They give really big serving and the plateful of breakfast is more than enough to keep you satisfied. I remember getting 4 pieces of sausages, scrambled eggs, fresh fruit slices and my choice of coffee or juice. Everything was fresh, delicious and cooked to order. I just loved this heavenly place and the lush greens that we were able to experience. This place is really great to get you rejuvenated and to keep you relaxed.


A Picture of myself and my daughter walking in their pathway on the way to the restaurant. My husband taking the picture from the second floor of the restaurant.