Thursday Thoughts v. 8

Linking up again with Sar for another round of Thrusday Thoughts.

(one)

My wedding ticker says "3 months and 3 days until our wedding day".  Goodness!  Everything seems to be in fast forward.  I have to submit all my documents to the church ASAP.  Ruel's documents are all ready. Mine still have some minor glitches which I hope and pray I will solve tomorrow...   with God's help.

(two)

I have been quite remiss in posting lately. I'm a little sad because I feel I have neglected this blog in a way. It's just that work has been keeping me busy.  Despite the fact that I have been doing my job, I still have so many things left unaccomplished ...

Checked test papers for recording

for recording

essays for checking

projects for grading and recording

and so many other things that are coming my way! Yikes!

(three)

Saturday is coming and I'm excited....wedding preparations again.  But why do weekends have to be so short???  I often wish there were three rest days in a week instead of just two....specially because this September, we will only have one free Saturday.  All of the three other Saturdays are working days! :( Can you believe that?  Oh well... you'd think after all these years, I would have gotten used to it already.  But I haven't and I don't think, I'll ever be!

(four)
I'm beginning to wish I didn't tell my work friends about this blog.  I'm beginning to wish my students didn't find out about this blog thru google! I wish I had a secret blog so I could write things more freely.  There are so many other things and feelings that I can't put out here in the open for fear of saying something not "teacher-like",  something that could hurt the school, or hurt one of my family members.
I'm actually thinking of starting a new one with more of  "controversial" thoughts.

So, these are my thoughts this Thursday. What are you thinking of?

I've Got Your Number

Priorities.  I totally forgot them the minute I started reading Sophie Kinsella's book, I've Got Your Number.

The book was part of the birthday goodie bag I got from Ruel last Sunday.

I started reading it at 6:30am yesterday, planning to read only a few pages because I had other more pressing matters to attend to.  But once I started reading, I just couldn't stop.  I found myself turning the pages, one after the other until I got to the last page.

I read it in eight hours straight, stopping only for breakfast and lunch and for the occasional chats I had with my son and with my mom.

I found it so easy to relate to the main character, Poppy Wyatt.  I didn't like her at first, thinking she was selfish and dishonest.  But the more I read, the more I began to like and understand her.  Towards the end, I actually thought she and I had a lot of similarities.

In fact, her character was so real  she could be the person sitting next to you in the train or jeepney.  She's sometimes insecure, sometimes nosy, always curious, eager to please and help, with really funny ideas that I think I would also get into if I was compelled to.

Sam Robston was strong and kind and successful. Wow! It was easy to fall in love with him!  No wonder Poppy did!

So, what was the story about?  I promise if you want to read the book, you can still continue reading this.  I'll just give a preview.

Imagine this.
Your boyfriend proposed to you with an engagement ring that has been in his family for three generations.  Of course, you're flattered!  And you've only been dating for a month!

You are with your friends in this hotel and they try on your ring. It goes around the table and suddenly the fire alarm goes off.  Everyone panics and you lose your ring.

You're thinking you can't lose your ring. You have to find it ASAP because you're having dinner with your future in-laws that day.

You look for it and while you're at it, someone steals your phone.  You have to leave a number at the concierge....but what number?

Suddenly, you see a phone in a trash bin.  You get it, and you give that number to the concierge.  But the phone has an owner.  It's a company phone.  The owner now wants it back.  But you can't give it back until you get your ring back because it's the only way the hotel can contact you.

And so, you make a weird deal with the owner, something that he cannot do anything about.

This story had me laughing, smiling and crying....but then again....as I have told you, it's easy to make me cry.

I won't tell you any more. You've really got to read it on your own.  I promise, you won't regret it.  You're going to have a fun time.

It's very light, very funny and so romantic.  It left me with a smile and a sigh.  If you like love stories, I think it will do the same for you.

Greek Birthday

I turned another year older yesterday. God, in His goodness and generosity, has blessed me with so much. I just felt the need to celebrate.

We went to a Greek restaurant, Cyma, located on the fifth floor of Shangri-La Mall. Most of us have gone there before but this was our first as a family.

with my son

with my sister

It's a Greek version of  baked macaroni. It tasted and felt a little weird at first taste but the more I had it, the more  I liked it.

This is Greek paella.  Loved the taste!   It was flavorful with a hint of lemon.

This is some kind of an appetizer.  Bread with flaming cheese.  The cheese is on fire as it is served.
I  loved it but nobody loved it more than my son did.

We had gyros but I wasn't able to take a picture of it.    Sorry.

That's all of us....my son, me, my sister, her husband, my dad, mom and Ruel

So anyway, this is how I spent my birthday.  We went to hear mass in the afternoon as we weren't able to catch the early morning mass.  I woke up too late.

It was a stressful (don't ask me why) but happy birthday, ending with a birthday dinner with yummy buko pandan for dessert.

Saturday Treasures

I know I said I will host a link-up which I will start today but honestly, I'm a little bit scared that nobody will link up.  

This blog has not been around for a long time, and my followers are just a handful, I don't know if a link-up will be successful at this stage. 

 I've been looking forward to hosting and all, but when I eventually came up with something that I wanted to host, I started having apprehensions.  

I don't really know how the ladies from other blogs started their link-ups.

  I mean, what is the best way to go about it?  Do I just start it out of the blue?  Should I start it as an ordinary post and do it on a regular basis by myself to kind of introduce it slowly and then ask people to link-up only after some time?

Has anyone felt like this about hosting something?  I actually feel ridiculous about feeling this way but I cannot help it.

So anyway, Saturday Treasures is coming soon.  I just don't know when. :(

Thursday Thoughts v. 7

The days are really flying by so fast! Another week has passed after my last Thursday Thoughts and I didn't even notice.

So here's what I've been thinking:

(one)

I totally adore the movie Letters to Juliet because I found it so cute and romantic. It made me cry too, but then again, love stories ALWAYS make me cry.  Anyway, I thought the songs were all at once happy and romantic which is the mood I want during our wedding reception and so, I picked one of the songs from its soundtrack to be played during our reception.

(two)

I just want to share what my girls would be wearing (well....more or less) during my wedding.
It's somewhere between these two.

Source: bridesmaids.com via Marie Claire on Pinterest

.

Source: ebuywedding.com via Marie Claire on Pinterest

   

       

Their dresses  would be in carnation green, we would be using chiffon because I want the skirt to have a very soft and romantic effect.

(3)

I mentioned something about a link-up a few days ago and I think I finally thought of something I would like to host. The whole week I am going collect "treasures" and I would share them every Saturday. Now, the treasures may be tangible things like recent purchases, gifts  received, or intangible things like a delicious new recipe, a memorable experience, a lesson learned, a nice quotation picked up somewhere, a glorious sunset, anything that is worth remembering or worth cherishing. These are the things I would share every Saturday and anyone who wishes to link up will do the same. It can be as many as the days of the week, or just one. But I think, as generous God is, each of us will be able to collect more than just one treasure in a week. What do you think girls? I'll start it on Saturday, that is, if I figure out how to put a linky.


So anyway, these are my thoughts today. Head on to Sar to see what she is thinking and link up!

Dear Monday v. 6

a link-up with Megan

Dear Monday, I'm really starting to like you.  It seems I've been having a lot of non-working Mondays recently.  I hope this week turns out great for me and for everyone I love, including my followers.

Dear new outfit,  I think you are a little too tight for me.  I just loved the way you looked and so I had to have you.  I just hope I could drop some pounds soon so I could wear you without showing my flabs.

Dear self, please stop eating too much sweets.  Stop having second helpings.  You're getting bigger and bigger every month and the wedding is just three months away.

Dear birthday, you are approaching so fast! Just six more days, and I'll be another day older.  I want you to be extra special this year but I still don't have any plans.  I want to do something extraordinary but I haven't had the time to really plan.

Dear students, you will have your first quarter exams on Thursday.  Please do not forget to capitalize the first letter of the proper nouns and do NOT capitalize the first letter of the common nouns. Do not forget to write in cursive.  Good luck in all your exams. I hope you get a high grade in my subject.

Dear blogger friends and followers,  thank you so much for reading and following my blog.  I wish you knew how much I appreciate each and everyone of you.  You have inspired me to write almost every day.  Without you, I don't think this blog would have lasted more than a month.  I will have my giveaway once I reach 100 followers. For now, I'm thinking of hosting a link-up.  But again, I have no idea!  Sometimes I think, I'm going to have this....and then I stumble on a blog that already has the same kind of link-up.  So, my dear followers, if you have any suggestions of a link-up or challenge I can host, please tell me about it.

Dear God, I thank you for each and every day I spend with my loved ones and for all the things you bless  us with. Thank you for keeping us healthy and safe.  Thank you for my blogger friends and followers. Please continue to bless and protect us all.

Wedding Update and Eat and Go Review

I was at the mall the whole day, to check out some invitation samples, and a lovely collection of unique coins for our wedding.

Goodness gracious! I didn't realize invitations could be so expensive!  The cheapest one we found was priced at 125.00 pesos per piece and they told us the minimum number we could order was 100!  We were only having 150 guests and we were only planning to give out around 50 invites!

So, I guess the hunt is still on for invitation suppliers.  We'll just wait for the next bridal fair scheduled on the 25th and 26th of this month.

We were trying to save some money so we were very particular today about lunch. I didn't want to eat in a fast food but I certainly did not want to spend so much again on the usual restaurants we go to.  

We ended up trying out  Eat and Go, located on the 3rd floor of SM Megamall, Bldg. B.  Its name may sound like fast food but it is not.

They had a promotional meal of two entrees and one salad for only Ps. 399.00.  That included bottomless lemonade and 50% off on dessert, which we didn't avail of because we have been eating too much sweets lately.

I ordered Prawn Bucatini.  It came with a soup which I didn't know the name of, and buttered corn and carrots.  The buttered corn and carrots didn't taste as if they were seasoned but it was ok because I like corn.  I really liked the taste of the soup which had just enough sourness, sweetness and spiciness.   Here's the problem though.  It was not served hot.  It wasn't even warm!  

The Prawn Bucatini was the one that saved the meal. It was not extraordinary but I thought it was very good, it was flavorful enough for its cost.  I actually found myself enjoying it.

Prawn Bucatini

Ruel ordered Roast Chicken.  I tried the dish and in my opinion the rice was a little too dry.  The chicken tasted okay but it was too small compared to how it looked in the picture. I'm so used to that but I still complain about it every time. :)

Roast Chicken 

This was the salad that came with the order

I usually enjoy salad but I didn't enjoy this one.  The apple was crisp though.

    To summarize, here's what I think on a scale of 1-5, with 5 being the highest and 1, the lowest.

    Taste:                    4

    Service:                 2

    Value for money:   3

I have read about this place. Some were good, a lot were bad.  But then honestly, what do you expect out of 399.00?  The 399.00 meal even comes with a fifty percent off on dessert.  

So I think this is already a good bargain.  

Now, if we didn't take the promo, maybe I would think differently.  

Still, I really enjoyed the bucatini. :)

So, will I be a repeat customer? It won't be at the top of my mind but if I wanted something better than McDo or Jollibee, I just might come back.

Thursday Thoughts v. 6

Hey friends, it's Thursday once again! Time for Thursday Thoughts.

(1) 

I have finally finished making my table of specifications and exam questions.   Yay! But I won't be able to really breathe until I know that I do not have to edit anything. :(  My area head usually does not find anything wrong with the content of my exam....just something wrong with the margins, font type, etc. etc.   I hate editing, specially if I really don't have to!

(2)

The days seem to be flying by so fast!  I can't believe it's only three months before our wedding.  There are still so many things we have to accomplish and pay for!  As I get more and more stressed out with the wedding preps, work in school also continues to pile up and cause additional stress!

(3)

I don't know whether we should still have an engagement shoot.  I think it's too late anyway.  But then, if we don't, we wouldn't have any quality pictures before we become man and wife.   The problem is, we haven't even chosen a venue yet, we don't have much time before the wedding date and we don't know when the weather would be good for taking pics.

(4)

I can't wait for Saturday!  My seamstress will be getting the measurements of my girls!  We'll also be hunting for an invitation supplier.  It's going to be a happy day!

What about you? What are you thinking about?  Head on to Sar, read her thoughts and link up!

Wedding Songs

I am totally and absolutely in love with Pachelbel's Canon in D Major!

I don't think I have heard lovelier music.

This is the music our wedding party will be marching to...


all except me.

I will be marching to another song but I haven't decided on a song yet.


Some other songs which will be sung in church are:

God Knew that I Needed You,

When God Made You

and

Ngayon at Kailanman.

I need two more songs to complete my list.  Any suggestions?    Please help!

Wedding in three months! Panic Mode!

Oh my goodness!  It's roughly three months and three weeks before my wedding and we still have a lot to prepare!

I haven't even decided on the style of the gown of the girls in our wedding party.  I've been  browsing the net for nice gowns for my girls and for our mothers since yesterday but until now I haven't seen anything that catches my fancy!

To top it all off, we haven't even decided which guys will be in our wedding party.  Of course, the groom is a given and the junior best man is my son but we haven't decided on the guys who will be  acting as secondary sponsors!

We have to go look for someone who will do my hair and make up and a supplier for our invitations this week.

So many things to do, to decide and to look for!  So I think I will have to spend less time here and more time planning my wedding.

Sorry for a very short post but I am now in panic mode!

Decadent Chocolate Pudding

This is a very a simple recipe that you'll want to do over and over again, specially if you love chocolates.

Here's what you need: 

1/3 cup Delfi cocoa powder or Dutch-processed cocoa powder 

1/4 cup cornstarch 

2/3 cup sugar 

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 1/2 cups fresh milk 

4 egg yolks 

2 tbsp unsalted butter 

4 ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate 

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

 Directions:
1.Whisk the salt, cocoa powder, sugar and cornstarch together in a medium-sized saucepan. Gradually whisk in milk and egg yolks. Make sure that the cornstarch is totally dissolved.

 2.Continue whisking the mixture over medium heat for around eight minutes. Then reduce the heat and continue whisking for another minute.

 3.Pour the mixture into a bowl thru a sieve. Add the vanilla, chopped chocolate and butter. Stir until smooth. 4. Divide the mixture among small glass containers and chill for at least three hours.

 It is good to eat as it is.   But you can also serve it with whipped cream and/or chocolate shavings.

 Last night, I served it with sliced bananas. It was heavenly!

Please excuse the banana peel behind the glass. :)

I made this in 40 minutes, but only because I usually work in slow motion. I have a habit of smelling all the containers, cups and spoons before I use them.

Seven Years Older and Several Shades Darker....

Some good things never change....

I had a date with one of my old friends from the corporate world last night.  We have not seen each other for so long, owing to the fact that she migrated to Canada some seven years ago.  After just thirty minutes of talking with her, I realized Maic is still the same old friend I know.

Seven years older and several shades darker, she is still Maic...the same friend who taught me the quote, "Kung gusto maraming paraan, kung ayaw maraming dahilan." (If you really want something, there are plenty of ways.  If you don't want to do something, there are plenty of excuses), the same friend whose voice  echoes in my mind whenever I put on my jewelries, "Mitsa ng buhay yan." (That would cost you your life.)

There were a lot of other things she taught me (or at least tried to), like storing up on underwear before getting married, becoming more practical and many other things I think I never really learned to do.  I guess, it was because she and I had totally different personalities with totally different mindsets.  Funny that we get along together but we do.  Of course there were times we didn't see eye to eye .....lots of times, but that never got in the way of our friendship.

I never really realized how much I missed her until last night.  As I have said, she was the same person I know and remember.  She was so much darker, but I guess she weighed the same.  She talked the same way and laughed the same way.  Same old blunt and frank Maic with lots of weird but practical ideas that usually make me laugh.

She and I still laugh at the same things.  She said I was the same person too.  And so we had a blast!

with Maic and her husband, Sam

Maic and I at the Tsoko.Nut for a cup of coffee after our very early dinner

Since she's going back to Canada on Monday and won't be attending my shower and my wedding, she gave me my shower gift early...

sweet perfume and something tiny inside the bag!   

I asked her if she was sure they fit me. :)  We used to be the same size.  

Now, I'm so much bigger!

    She also gave me and Ruel a cash gift for our wedding.  Thanks so much, Maic!  Really thoughtful of her!

    I was so reluctant to end the night but the rain was starting to pour again and so we had to say "So long."

    I miss her already.

Thursday Thoughts v. 5

Time flies so fast!  It's Thursday once again...time for my weekly link-up with Sar.

(1)

After more than a week of continues rain, the sun finally decided to show us his face this afternoon.  I am so thankful that the rain has stopped and rebuilding and healing can begin for the victims of the floods. I am also so thankful to God for blessing us with a home in a place not prone to floods.  We are very lucky.  

(2)

Thousands of people had to be rescued from their homes and a lot of these people have pets.  I wonder how many of them were able to bring their pets with them to the evacuation center.  I feel sorry for those pets who have been left behind.  Thinking about how these dogs and cats feel just makes me cry.

Some pets were lucky though.  I saw this photo on facebook this morning and it really touched my heart.

This was taken in one of the not-so-flooded areas

http://www.facebook.com/WhenInManila

(3)

Along with trying to help with the relief and all, I decided to list down the things I can do to make sure that this catastrophe doesn't happen again.  I'm not yet done though.  I'll share my list once I am done.

(4)

We have had a long break from school.  There won't be any classes until tomorrow because of the floods.  I have been trying to finish my paperworks these past few days.  Today, I decided to take a break and just relax.  I guess, my dog enjoyed this stress-free time too, she was beside me all the time.

(5)

I think I'm going to have to make pesto a regular at home. My son and I love it so much, whether it's with pasta, with garlic bread or with plain crackers. 

(6)

I seriously need to have a pedicure and paint my toenails.  I miss color on my feet!

(7)

Yes, I've changed my header again because I wasn't satisfied with the previous one. Now, I still can't decide if I'm happy with this one so I guess I still don't know how long it will stay up there.

(8)

I have some problems I'm hoping someone can help me with.  

First is,  can anyone teach me how to put a HOME tab along with the other tabs on top?

Second, when I click on a follower, a box usually comes up with the links of the follower and a list of blogs she is following.  This is good coz I can click on her link and view her blog.  But, there are times when I click on a certain follower, (not just one), I see a list of the blogs she follows, but I don't see any link to her blog.  

I have tried to click on the SEND MESSAGE but somehow, it doesn't let me send a message.  It takes me somewhere else and then back again to where I first started...kind of frustrating really!  I really want to meet my followers!

Well anyway, this post has gotten so long, you have to head on to Sar now.  She has some amazing pics over there!

38 in 38

I keep seeing these 101 in 1001 lists on the net so I went to Day Zero to make my own.

The problem is, it is just so hard to come up with 101 things that I really want to do.   There were ideas on the site, but a lot of them were things I didn't want to do.  Since I wasn't imaginative/creative enough to think of 101 things to do, I decided to just come up with my own ____ in ___.  That would be way shorter and so much easier to make.

I figured making my list and putting it out here in the open will make it more like a commitment for me to really accomplish the things I've listed down.

38 in 38 

in no particular order, except of course for #1 and  #5

1. Get married. - Well, that's a given.

2. Go to Bohol and meet a tarsier.

3. Organize my pics.

4. Learn 10 new dishes.

5. Get pregnant.

6. go back to Disneyland

7. Read at least one new book in a month.

8. Host a link-up.

9. Grow my blog.

10. Write more snail nails.

11. Have a healthier diet.

12. Exercise more.

13. Ride cabs less often.

14. Love more.

15. Read the Bible more often.

16. Say the Rosary more often.

17. Leave inspiring notes for strangers.

18. Learn to drive.

19. Think of a topic for my thesis.

20. Open an online store.

21. Design a shirt.

22. Plant a tree.

23. Buy a new camera.

24. Learn more about photography.

25. Organize my closet.

26. List down my daily expenses.

27. Save more. 

28. Watch more movies.

29. Create more things.

30. Bake more.

31. Be more active on twitter.

32. Create a reading list.

33. Pay off my social security debt.

34. Read more Pinoy blogs.

35. Watch The Princess Bride.  

36. Spend more time with my son.

37. Be a sweet wife.

38. Be a sweeter daughter.

That's my list! I hope I can accomplish everything I've listed and continue doing 36, 37 and 38 long after the given time period.    

Wish me luck!

Water All Around!

Rivers are overflowing.

Roads are turning into rivers.

People are evacuating their homes....

or are being rescued by rescue workers.

 The rain continues to pour.

That's what's happening outside the safe confines of our home.

I am glad that our house is located in an area that is not prone to floods.

Thank God!

So I can sit here, make my test questions, and type this post.

Unlike my fellow Pinoys who are in deep water (literally and figuratively), I am lucky that I can still  afford to reflect at this moment.

After the flood caused by Ondoy, mountains of garbage were everywhere.

I even saw plastic bags hanging from tree branches.

As I watch the news, I see the same thing.  Garbage floating!

I hope that we learn a lesson from this.  

Let's not point our fingers. Let's stop blaming others.

Let's start taking responsibility for our actions...

or for the lack of it.

We have left our mountains bare,

and as if that was not enough, 

We leveled mountains.

We bathed our bodies, cleaned our homes but dirtied the streets, the gutters, the creeks and the rivers with our trash.

Goodness gracious!

We haven't been good stewards of the earth.

That's the ugly truth!

It's just so frustrating! I'm so worried for my son.  What kind of earth, what kind of city would he live in when he is older?

When I was studying, floods like these happened only in nightmares!

So this is a call to all my countrymen,  please let's match our prayers with action.

I know you care for your children as much as I do for mine.

Let's do our part.

Be good to mother nature.  Take care of the earth.

It is our only home...the only home we can leave our children with.

To my foreign readers, please whisper a short prayer for my country and for all the flood victims tonight.

To my fellow Quezon City residents, St. Paul University Quezon City is accepting relief goods.

If you are one of those lucky enough, please bring canned goods, instant noodles, blankets, and the like to the school.  It's along Aurora Boulevard, corner Gilmore Avenue.

To end this post, let me share with you a beautiful prayer I found on a friend's fb timeline.

"When the oceans rise and thunders roar
I will soar with You above the storm
Father you are King over the flood
I will be still and know You are God"

Dear Monday v. 5

a link-up with Megan

Happy Monday friends! It's time once again for another round of Dear Monday!

Dear Monday, you're supposed to be stress-free today with the suspension of classes.  Still, why am I so stressed? Is it because of the tons of work  I have to do, even on a non-working day?

Dear Saturday, you were specially busy last week!  You made me cook up a storm!  It left me exhausted but entirely happy for my son who celebrated his thirteenth birthday.

Dear Sunday, you were a delight! You filled my stomach to the brim!  Hahaha! Does it even have a brim? Oh what the "h", it's just an expression!  We celebrated our mom's 70th birthday in advance at Midas Hotel. I had a glorious time eating everything their buffet had to offer.  Sorry, I didn't get to take lots of pictures of the food, specially the pretty desserts.  I was so busy eating!

I can't remember enjoying a veggie salad as much as I did this one!

       I had grilled seafoods too! Yum!  And I could live on their bread and cheese! Oh, I can feel my mouth watering again!

Dear Mom,  happy birthday in advance!  Thanks for taking care of me and my son! I hope you will still be strong enough to take care of another child of mine sometime in the very near future!  We are all very lucky to have you!   May God give you many more happy birthdays!

Mothers never stop being mothers. See? My mom still fixes my hair!

Mom at almost 70

Dear family, I am really so blessed to have you! I know we are always noisy and oftentimes arguing over little things, but still we do love one another and that's what's most important.

Dear paperworks, I hope I get to do more of you this week!  I really need to!

Dear God, thank you for the love and the blessings!  Please continue to bless the people I love!